Mouse-tail fescue

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mouse-tail fescue
Mouse-tail fescue (Festuca myuros) (Herbarium evidence)

Mouse-tail fescue ( Festuca myuros ) ( Herbarium evidence )

Systematics
Commelinids
Order : Sweet grass (Poales)
Family : Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Subfamily : Pooideae
Genre : Fescue ( festuca )
Type : Mouse-tail fescue
Scientific name
Festuca myuros
L.

The vulpia myuros ( Festuca myuros ), also called mouse pen fescue or murine Fuchs fescue referred to, is a plant of the genus fescue ( Festuca ) within the family of grasses (Poaceae). It is widespread in Eurasia.

Appearance

Habit with typical overhanging panicles.
The lower part of the panicle is enclosed by the uppermost leaf sheath.
Spikelets with lower and upper glume (Glu) and five lemmas (Lem) and palea (Pal). The upper glume is at least 2½ times as long as the lower.
The flower (center of the picture) has only a single stamen.

Vegetative characteristics

The mouse-tail fescue grows as an annual herbaceous plant in dense clusters and reaches a stature height of 10 to 40 centimeters. The stalk grows upright or kinky and is covered by the leaf sheaths up to the top . The uppermost leaf sheaths often look inflated. The whole plant is light to bluish green in color. However, after a short time it becomes straw yellow. The leaf blades are usually hairy and stiff. They are seldom flat. They reach a length of about 20 to 70 millimeters and are 1 to 2 millimeters wide.

Generative characteristics

The flowering period is mainly from May to July. The spikelets are in a one-sided about 10 to 20 centimeters long and usually only 5 to 10 millimeters wide panicle . This is often as long as the carrying stalk and usually arches overhanging in the upper part. In the lower part it is often covered by the uppermost leaf sheath.

The spikelets are 8 to 11 millimeters long and have four or five, 10 to 15 millimeters long awns . They are long-oval in shape, light green in color and soon turn brown. Usually they are four to five flowered. The fertilization usually takes place within the unopened flower ( Kleistogamy ). The husks are short.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 14 or 42.

Habitus

Occurrence

The mouse-tail fescue is a Mediterranean-sub-Mediterranean floral element . Its distribution ranges from Europe to Taiwan and Sri Lanka and from Macaronesia to the Arabian Peninsula and Kenya. In the New World, Australia and other countries, this species is a neophyte .

In Germany, the mouse-tail fescue can only be found more frequently in western and parts of eastern Germany. In many cases, however, it occurs only very unstably. In Austria, the mouse-tail fescue occurs very rarely in the eastern federal states and is endangered. In Switzerland one finds it generally scattered in the colline height range.

The mouse-tail fescue grows on roadsides and rubble spots, on railway areas and on the edges of fields. It also often grows on poor sheep pastures when it is carried along with sheep's wool. It thrives best on summer warm and dry, moderately nutrient-rich and alkaline-rich, acidic, permeable but firm, sandy or gravel soils that are poor in humus and fine soil . It is a character species of the Filagini-Vulpietum from the Thero-Airion association, but also occurs in plant communities of the Sisymbrion and Onopordion associations or the Plantaginetea class.

Taxonomy

Festuca myuros was first published in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum , page 74. Synonyms for Festuca myuros L. are: Avena muralis Salisb. nom. superflat., Bromus bohemicus F.W. Schmidt ex Mert. & WDJKoch , Distomischus myuros (L.) Dulac , Festuca commutata Steud. nom. illeg., Festuca linearis Gilib. , Festuca megalura Nutt. , Festuca myuros var. Hirsuta (Hack.) Asch. & Graebn. , Festuca pseudomyuros Soy.-Will. , Mygalurus caudatus Link nom. superfl., Vulpia alpina L.Liu , Vulpia bromoides var. rigida Nees , Vulpia ciliata St.-Lag. nom. illeg., Vulpia crinita Lojac. , Vulpia longivaginata St.-Lag. nom. superfl., Vulpia major (Rohlena) Á.Löve & D.Löve , Vulpia megalura (Nutt.) Rydb. , Vulpia murorum Gray nom. superfl., Vulpia myuros (L.) CCGmel. , Vulpia pilosa C.C. Gmel. nom. nud., Vulpia pseudomyuros (Soy.-Will.) Rchb. , Vulpia reclinata Dumort. , Vulpia vaginata St.-Lag. nom. superflat., Vulpia myuros var. deserti Mouterde , Vulpia myuros var. hirsuta Hack. , Vulpia myuros var. Megalura (Nutt.) Auquier , Vulpia myuros var. Pseudomyuros (Soy.-Will.) Fiori , Vulpia myuros var. Subuniglumis Hack. , Vulpia myuros subsp. megalura (Nutt.) Soják , Vulpia myuros subsp. pseudomyuros (Soy.-Will.) Maire & Weiller , Zerna myuros B.D. Jacks.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Festuca myuros. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  2. ↑ a b Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas. 8th edition. Stuttgart, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 . Page 217.

Web links

Commons : Mouse- tailed fescue ( Vulpia myuros )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files