Globular blue grass

Globular blue grass
	Globular blue grass ( Sesleriella sphaerocephala )
Systematics
	Commelinids
Order :	Sweet grass (Poales)
Family :	Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Subfamily :	Pooideae
Genre :	Sesleriella
Type :	Globular blue grass
Scientific name of the genus
	Sesleriella
	Deyl
Scientific name of the species
	Sesleriella sphaerocephala
	( Ard. ) Deyl

The spherical blue grass ( Sesleriella sphaerocephala ) is the only species of the plant genus Sesleriella within the sweet grass family (Poaceae). This endemic occurs only in the southeastern Alps .

description

Habit in the fruiting state

Illustration from Plantarum indigenarum et exoticarum icones ad vivum coloratae, or, collection of pictures of domestic and foreign plants painted from nature, for lovers and those who are dedicated to botany

Vegetative characteristics

The spherical blue grass is a perennial herbaceous plant . It forms dense clumps . It reaches heights of 2 to 12 centimeters in the flowering period and 15 to 20 centimeters in the fruiting period. The stalks are only covered with leaves at one or two nodes in the lowest part .

The leaves arranged alternately on the stalk are divided into leaf sheath and leaf blade. The ligule of the upper stalk leaves is 0.5 to 1 millimeter long. The simple leaf blade is 1 to 10 inches long and 1 to 3 millimeters wide, flat or folded.

Generative characteristics

The flowering period extends from July to August. The paniculate inflorescence is 5 to 12 millimeters long and 5 to 12 millimeters wide, very dense, is either blue-gray, light yellowish or silver-colored and has two semicircular bracts at the base. The spikelets contain three or four florets and are 4.5 to 6 millimeters long. The glumes are single-nerved and 4 to 5 millimeters long, glabrous or slightly hairy on the edges. The lemmas are five-nerved, 3 to 4.5 millimeters long and provided with a 0.3 to 1.5 millimeter long awn. The palea are two-veined, almost as long or slightly longer as the lemma. The anthers are 1.5 to 2 millimeters long.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 14.

Occurrence

The spherical blue grass thrives only in the southeastern Alps . Its occurrences are in Switzerland , Austria , Italy and Slovenia . The ball head Blue Grass rises at altitudes of up to 2,840 meters on, in the Dolomites it thrives in altitudes from 1,570 to 2,565 meters, at Sassalbo in Poschiavo 2200-2800 meters.

The spherical blue grass grows in the subalpine to alpine altitudes on scree slopes and in crevices. It thrives best on dry, base-rich, mostly lime-rich, nutrient-poor, humus-poor, stony soils . It thrives in the association of the Seslerio-Semperviretum.

Taxonomy

The first publication took place in 1764 under the name ( Basionym ) Sesleria sphaerocephala by Pietro Arduino in Animadv. Bot. Spec. Old. , Page 20. The new combination Sesleriella sphaerocephala (Ard.) Deyl was created in 1946 by Miloš Deyl in Opera Bot. Cech. , 3, page 230 published. Another synonyms are: Sesleria leucocephala DC. , Cynosurus sphaerocephalus (Ard.) Wulfen .

literature

Hans Joachim Conert: Sesleria sphaerocephala. Pp. 484-486. In: Gustav Hegi : Illustrated flora of Central Europe. 3rd edition, Volume I, Part 3, Verlag Paul Parey, Berlin, Hamburg, 1987 ISBN 3-489-52320-2 . (Sections Description and Occurrence).

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Rafaël Govaerts, 2019: World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP Database). The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Sesleriella sphaerocephala. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved June 14, 2020.

Web links

Commons : Globular blue grass ( Sesleriella sphaerocephala ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

[WCSP-1] Rafaël Govaerts, 2019: World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP Database). The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Sesleriella sphaerocephala. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved June 14, 2020.