Ravenna grass

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Ravenna grass
Saccharum ravennae 20070226-1555-85.jpg

Ravenna grass ( Saccharum ravennae )

Systematics
Order : Sweet grass (Poales)
Family : Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Subfamily : Panicoideae
Tribe : Andropogoneae
Genre : Saccharum
Type : Ravenna grass
Scientific name
Saccharum ravennae
(L.) L.

The ravenna grass ( Saccharum ravennae ) is a species of the sweet grass family (Poaceae). Besides the African napier grass ( Pennisetum purpureum ), the giant Chinese reed ( Miscanthus × giganteus ) and the Chinese reed ( Miscanthus sinensis ) it is known as elephant grass . The German or English trivial name "Ravenna grass" is derived from the northern Italian city ​​of Ravenna .

features

Vegetative characteristics

The ravenna grass grows as a perennial herbaceous plant and reaches stature heights of 1 meter, and under optimal growth conditions, which prevail especially in the countries of origin of the ravenna grass, of up to 4.5 meters. Clumps are formed. Just like the related sugar cane , the plant is non-toxic and hardy. The stalks have a diameter of about 1 cm and have clear nodes .

The leaves consist of a hairy leaf sheath with a ligula and a leaf blade. The leaf blade has a length of 30 to 100 cm and a width of 3 to 20 mm. It is glossy gray-green and has a fine white line in the middle. In late autumn, the ravenna grass turns an intense orange.

Ravenna grass ( Saccharum ravennae ), inflorescence

Generative characteristics

The ravenna blooms from September to October and keeps the inflorescences through winter until the next spring. However, a long, warm and sunny summer is a prerequisite for blooming. The inflorescences are initially light pink, but after a few weeks they first turn brown and finally silver. The panicles total inflorescence is open, elliptical, and 25 to 70 cm long. In the entire inflorescence, many spikelets stand together in pairs and end in a 1.5 to 3 cm long racemose partial inflorescence. The elliptical spikelets are 3 to 6 (to 6.5) mm long; they have a sterile flower base and many fertile flowers. The fertile flowers contain three stamens with 3 mm long anthers. There are achenes formed.

Chromosome number

The number of chromosomes is 2n = about 120.

Occurrence

The ravenna grass occurs in southwestern and southeastern Europe, in northern and northeastern tropical Africa, in temperate areas of Central Asia, the Caucasus, in western Asia, on the Arabian Peninsula, in China, in tropical Asia (Indian subcontinent and Indochina ) and in the southwestern USA. The ravenna grass grows in semi-arid to arid areas in shadow-free places. In Europe, this plant species is therefore most widespread in Italy , France , Spain , Greece , Bulgaria and Albania . In addition to the southern European countries, ravenna grass is also native to almost all western Asian countries such as Turkey , Iraq , Afghanistan etc., but also to Pakistan and India . On the African continent, the distribution area is in North African countries such as Algeria , Tunisia , Morocco, the Sahara or Somalia .

Systematics

Synonyms are Andropogon ravennae L. (Basionym), Erianthus elephantinus Hook. f. , Erianthus purpurascens Andersson , Erianthus ravennae (L.) P.Beauv. , Ripidium elephantinum (Hook. F.) Grassl , Ripidium ravennae (L.) Trin. , Saccharum elephantinum (Hook. F.) V. Naray ex Bor . Saccharum ravennae was founded in 1774 by Carl von Linné in Syst. veg. , 13th edition, p. 88, but he had already published the same species under the name Andropogon ravennae in 1763 in Species Plantarum , 2nd edition, 2, p. 1481.

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Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tropicos. [1]
  2. ↑ WDClayton, KTHarman & H. Williamson: Grass Base - The Online World Grass Flora : ravennae Saccharum - Online.
  3. ^ A b Saccharum ravennae in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
  4. ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Saccharum ravennae. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved November 20, 2016.

Web links

Commons : Ravennagras  - collection of images, videos and audio files