Panicum effusum

Panicum effusum
	Panicum effusum
Systematics
	Commelinids
Order :	Sweet grass (Poales)
Family :	Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Subfamily :	Panicoideae
Genre :	Panicum ( Panicum )
Type :	Panicum effusum
Scientific name
	Panicum effusum
	R.Br.

Panicum effusum is a plant from the genus Panicum ( Panicum ). It is native to Australia and New Guinea . This type of grass became newsworthy when, in February 2016, large amounts of the steppe runner panicles in the small Australian town of Wangaratta were deposited meters high and became a nuisance to the residents.

description

Vegetative characteristics

Panicum effusum is a perennial herbaceous plant that reaches heights of 20 to 70 centimeters. It is a tufted grass with short rhizomes . The stalks are sometimes branched, upright, hollow and not inflated at the base. The knots are bearded. The lower leaf sheaths are hairy with shaggy hairs, the others bumpy and rough with bare edges. The ligule is a ring of 0.5 to 1 millimeter long eyelashes. The hairy, green, flat or curled leaf blade is linear and measures 9 to 29 centimeters × 1 to 4 millimeters. The sparsely comb-shaped ciliate base gradually narrows into the leaf sheath. Five to seven nerves are usually faintly discernible on the underside of the blade.

Generative characteristics

The inflorescence is a 20 to 42 centimeter long and 14 to 35 centimeter wide, widely spread panicle , which breaks off when ripe and is spread by the wind. The bald main axis is smooth or slightly rough above. The glandless panicle branches have no spikelets at the base, the lowest branch is single and is 12 to 20 centimeters long. The slightly rough spikelet stalks are 2 to 10 millimeters shorter or longer than the spikelets. The ripe, wide open, two-flowered spikelets , arranged individually or in pairs, are 2.1 to 2.25 millimeters long and pointed. There is no clear internode between the two glumes . The lower glume is ovate, with a length of 1.1 to 1.4 millimeters 0.5 to 0.6 times as long as the spikelet, tapered and has one to three (to five) nerves, of which the lateral ones are only indistinctly closed recognize are. The upper glume is acuminate and glabrous like the first lemma, 2.05 to 2.2 millimeters long and has five to seven nerves without cross connections. The lower floret is sterile; the lemma has seven to nine nerves connected by transverse nerves; the palea is 0.5 to 0.6 times as long as the lemma. The lemma of the upper, fertile floret is sessile, 1.25 to 2 millimeters long, broadly elliptical, glabrous, smooth (in Australia also tiny papilose), shiny, with a blunt, straight tip. The three anthers are 1 to 1.05 millimeters long.

The flowering time is in the southern hemisphere summer, mainly from October to May.

ecology

After the fruit ripens, the inflorescences break off and are spread out as steppe runners by the wind ( Chamaechorie ). The diaspores can also spread in the mud adhering to the body of motor vehicles. The fruits belong to the food spectrum of the black breasted quail ( Coturnix pectoralis ).

Panicum effusum is a C4 plant . The species is drought-bearing, but sensitive to frost. Its growth is not promoted by fertilizers. It can only tolerate light grazing.

Occurrence

Panicum effusum occurs in Australia frequently to scattered in all states of the mainland as well as in the Central Province in southeast New Guinea.

Roadsides and other disturbed locations as well as eucalyptus savannas are populated as sites . There it is associated, for example, with Eucalyptus moluccana , Eucalyptus tereticornis , Eucalyptus crebra , Melaleuca decora , Angophora floribunda , Eucalyptus albens and Eucalyptus melliodora .

Panicum effusum thrives on moderately to poorly nutrient-rich clay soils on slate , conglomerates and other sediments and often occurs in temporarily flooded areas in the north of its range. Salty soils can also be colonized. The populated heights are between sea level and 1200 m. Annual rainfall is between 600 and 1200 millimeters. Panicum effusum is considered a full light plant.

Taxonomy

The scientific name Panicum effusum was first published by Robert Brown in 1810 . The species has the synonyms: Panicum convallium F. Muell. and Panicum viale Chase .

Economical meaning

Panicum effusum provides moderate to high feed value for sheep, but can trigger photodermatitis if it is used as the main feed for a long time . The parts of the plant blown as steppe runners often get stuck in fences.

Individual evidence

↑ Wangaratta: Grass plague annoys Australian homeowners. at Spiegel Online.
↑ Daniela Zeibig: "Hairy Panic": Grass buries Australian city under itself at Spektrum.de .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g John Peter Jessop, Gilbert Roelof Maria Dashorst, Fiona M. James: Grasses of South Australia. An Illustrated Guide to the Native and Naturalized Species. Wakefield Press, 2006, ISBN 1-86254-694-0 , p. 461, limited preview in Google Book Search.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ SWL Jacobs, CA Wall: Panicum. In: Gwen Jean Harden (Ed.): Flora of New South Wales. Volume 4, New South Wales University Press, Kensington 1993, ISBN 0-86840-188-9 , p. 486, (slightly modified html version), limited preview in Google Book Search.
^ ^A ^b ^c Jan Frederik Veldkamp: Revision of Panicum and Whiteochloa in Malesia (Gramineae - Paniceae). In: Blumea. Volume 41, 1996, pp. 181-216 (here: p. 192; PDF file ).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Doug Benson, Lyn McDougall: Ecology of Sydney Plant Species. Part 10: Monocotyledon families Lemnaceae to Zosteraceae. In: Cunninghamia. Volume 9, No. 1, 2005, pp. 16–212 (here: p. 161; PDF file ).
^ ^A ^b New South Wales Department of Primary Industries: Hairy panic. Agriculture. NSW Government. Last accessed February 20, 2016.
↑ Panicum effusum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
^ Robert Brown: Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. Richard Taylor and Company, London, p. 191 ( online ).
↑ Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Panicum effusum. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Accessed May 31, 2020.

Web links

Commons : Panicum effusum - collection of images, videos and audio files

[SPON-1] Wangaratta: Grass plague annoys Australian homeowners. at Spiegel Online.

[Spektrum-2] Daniela Zeibig: "Hairy Panic": Grass buries Australian city under itself at Spektrum.de .

[Jessop-3] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g John Peter Jessop, Gilbert Roelof Maria Dashorst, Fiona M. James: Grasses of South Australia. An Illustrated Guide to the Native and Naturalized Species. Wakefield Press, 2006, ISBN 1-86254-694-0 , p. 461, limited preview in Google Book Search.

[FloraNSW-4] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ SWL Jacobs, CA Wall: Panicum. In: Gwen Jean Harden (Ed.): Flora of New South Wales. Volume 4, New South Wales University Press, Kensington 1993, ISBN 0-86840-188-9 , p. 486, (slightly modified html version), limited preview in Google Book Search.

[Veldkamp-5] A ^b ^c Jan Frederik Veldkamp: Revision of Panicum and Whiteochloa in Malesia (Gramineae - Paniceae). In: Blumea. Volume 41, 1996, pp. 181-216 (here: p. 192; PDF file ).

[Benson-6] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Doug Benson, Lyn McDougall: Ecology of Sydney Plant Species. Part 10: Monocotyledon families Lemnaceae to Zosteraceae. In: Cunninghamia. Volume 9, No. 1, 2005, pp. 16–212 (here: p. 161; PDF file ).

[NSW-7] A ^b New South Wales Department of Primary Industries: Hairy panic. Agriculture. NSW Government. Last accessed February 20, 2016.

[GRIN-8] Panicum effusum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.

[Brown-9] Robert Brown: Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. Richard Taylor and Company, London, p. 191 ( online ).

[WCSP-10] Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Panicum effusum. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Accessed May 31, 2020.