Kinky foxtail grass

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Kinky foxtail grass
Kinky Foxtail (Alopecurus geniculatus) (Herbarium evidence)

Kinky Foxtail ( Alopecurus geniculatus ) ( Herbarium evidence )

Systematics
Commelinids
Order : Sweet grass (Poales)
Family : Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Subfamily : Pooideae
Genre : Foxtail grasses ( Alopecurus )
Type : Kinky foxtail grass
Scientific name
Alopecurus geniculatus
L.

The kinky foxtail grass ( Alopecurus geniculatus ), also called kinky foxtail , is a species from the sweet grass family (Poaceae).

description

The foxtail grass is a perennial plant that forms short underground runners. The renewal shoots grow up within the lowest leaf sheath . The stalks are (5 to) 15 to 45 cm long, thin and kneeling-ascending. Their lowest nodes are rooted and branched, they can also flood in water. They have five to eight knots. The leaf sheaths are glabrous, serrated, those of the lowest leaves turn brown and tear fibrous. The ligule is a membranous border 2 to 4 (rarely 6) mm in length. The leaf blades are 2 to 12 (to 22) cm long and 2 to 4 (to 6) mm wide. They are flat and rough, sometimes smooth on the underside.

inflorescence

The panicle is 1 to 5 (to 8) cm long and 3 to 5 mm wide. It is cylindrical and dense, the side branches are fused with the main axis in the lower part. The spikelets are single-flowered and 2.2 to 3.5 mm long without awn . Their shape is long-elliptical, when ripe they fall off as a whole. The glumes are similar and fused together at the base at the edges. They have three nerves, are the same length as the spikelet, narrow-elliptical in shape and keeled. They are densely ciliated on the keel, and have shorter hair on the side surfaces. The lemma is four-veined, 2 to 2.6 mm long, narrowly elliptical in shape and glabrous. The edges are fused together in the bottom third. An awn sits on the back in the lowest quarter. This is kneeling, 3 to 5 mm long and protrudes 2 to 3 mm from the glumes. The sub-awn is rotated. The palea is absent. The anthers are 1.2 to 1.8 mm long, initially yellowish, then brown. Flowering time is May to August.

The fruit is 1.2 to 1.5 mm long and compressed on the sides. The number of chromosomes is 2n = 28.

Distribution and locations

The kinky foxtail grass occurs from Europe to the Himalayas and Algeria and is a neophyte in North America.

In northern Germany the species is widespread and frequent, in the south it is only scattered. It grows from the plains to the mountains. In the Black Forest it rises up to 1140 m, in the Alps mostly up to 1550 m. In the Allgäu Alps, the species rises in the Tyrolean part between the Gaichtspitze and the Hahnenkamm cable car up to 1680 meters above sea level. The species is rare in Austria and is classified as endangered nationwide. In Switzerland it is considered to be “vulnerable” nationwide, in some areas it is endangered (“endangered”), and in the eastern central Alps it is extinct.

The foxtail grass grows in open pioneering societies, for example on the banks of flowing and standing water and on the edges of ditches. It also occurs on wet meadow and path hollows, which are flooded at certain times and only slowly dry out, as well as on moor meadows. It also grows flooding in water . It tolerates salt and usually grows on alternately wet, nutrient and base-rich, rather humus clay and silt soils with a neutral to moderately acidic soil pH . It is a light plant and a pointer plant for moisture, nutrient richness and lack of oxygen in the soil.

In terms of plant sociology , this grass is a characteristic of the floodplain and damp pastures (Agrostietalia stoloniferae) and an association characteristic of the foxtail lawn (Ranunculo repentis-Alopecuretum geniculati).

Systematics

The scientific name Alopecurus geniculatus was first published in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum .

Hybrids

The foxtail grass forms natural hybrids with other foxtail grasses:

  • Alopecurus geniculatus × Alopecurus pratensis = Alopecurus × brachystylus Peterm. (Syn .: Alopecurus × hybridus Wimm. )
  • Alopecurus geniculatus × Alopecurus aequalis = Alopecurus × haussknechtianus Asch. & Graebn.

Common names

More are in part only regionally common names for the Knick foxtail or were: Flott grass , river grass , Fluttgras and Muse tert ( Ostfriesland ).

Economical meaning

Despite its wide distribution, the species does not play a role as forage grass. Horses and cattle like to eat it, but it is very low-yielding, so sowing it is not worthwhile.

supporting documents

literature

  • Hans Joachim Conert: Parey's grass book. Recognize and determine the grasses of Germany . Parey, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-8263-3327-6 , pp. 84 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp. 259 .
  2. ^ A b Charles Edward Hubbard: Grasses. A Guide to their Structure, Identification, Uses and Distribution in the British Isles. 3. Edition. Penguin, London 1992, ISBN 0-14-013227-9 , p. 269.
  3. ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Alopecurus geniculatus. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings . Volume 1, IHW-Verlag, Eching near Munich 2001, ISBN 3-930167-50-6 , p. 156.
  5. ^ Manfred A. Fischer, Karl Oswald, Wolfgang Adler: Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol . 3rd, improved edition. State of Upper Austria, Biology Center of the Upper Austrian State Museums, Linz 2008, ISBN 978-3-85474-187-9 .
  6. ↑ Harald Niklfeld: Red List of Endangered Plants Austria. (= Green series of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Youth and Family. Volume 10). 2nd Edition. Austria-Medien-Service, Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-85333-028-2 .
  7. ↑ Alopecurus geniculatus. In: Info Flora (the national data and information center for Swiss flora).
  8. ↑ Carl von Linné: Species Plantarum. Volume 1, Lars Salvius, Stockholm 1753, p. 60. ( digitized versionhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.biodiversitylibrary.org%2Fopenurl%3Fpid%3Dtitle%3A669%26volume%3D1%26issue%3D%26spage%3D60%26date%3D1753~GB%3D~ IA% 3D ~ MDZ% 3D% 0A ~ SZ% 3D ~ double-sided% 3D ~ LT% 3D ~ PUR% 3D )
  9. ^ Georg August Pritzel , Carl Jessen : The German folk names of plants. New contribution to the German linguistic treasure. Philipp Cohen, Hannover 1882, p. 22. (online)

Web links

Commons : Knick-Fuchsschwanzgras  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files