Agrostis stolonifera

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Agrostis stolonifera
Agrostis Wuchs.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Pooideae
Genus: Agrostis
Species:
A. stolonifera
Binomial name
Agrostis stolonifera
L., 1753
Synonyms [3]
List
    • Agrostis adscendensLange
    • Agrostis albaL. var. palustris(Huds.) Pers.
    • Agrostis albaL. var. stolonifera(L.) Sm.
    • Agrostis capillarisPollich
    • Agrostis filifoliaLink
    • Agrostis karsensisLitv.
    • Agrostis maritimaLam.
    • Agrostis palustrisHuds.
    • Agrostis stoloniferaL. subsp. prorepensKoch
    • Agrostis stoloniferaL. var. compacta Hartm.
    • Agrostis stoloniferaL. var. palustris(Huds.) Farw.
    • Agrostis stolonizansSchult. & Schult. f.
    • Agrostis stramineaHartm.
    • Agrostis zeroviiKlokov

Agrostis stolonifera (creeping bentgrass, creeping bent, fiorin, spreading bent or carpet bentgrass [3] [4] [5] ) is a perennial grass species in the family Poaceae. It is widely used as turf for golf courses. [6] It flowers in Spring and Summer months.

Contents

Description

Agrostis stolonifera is stoloniferous and may form mats or tufts. The prostrate stems of this species grow to 0.4–1.0 metre (1 ft 4 in – 3 ft 3 in) long with 2–10-centimetre (0.79–3.94 in) long leaf blades and a panicle reaching up to 40 cm (16 in) in height.

The ligule is pointed and up to 5 millimetres (0.20 in) long. This differs from common bent, Agrostis capillaris , which is short and does not come to a point.

The leaves are tapering, often with a blue-grey colour. The grass is not tufted and the spikelets are red and tightly closed within the panicle. [7]

Where ranges overlap, A. stolonifera is easily confused with the stoloniferous A. gigantea and A. castellana . From those species, it can be distinguished by its thinner panicle (0.5-2.5cm wide, versus 4-8cm wide). [8] In New Zealand, it is suspected to hybridise with A. castellana, complicating identification. [9]

A. stolonifera and Polypogon monspesulensis are the parents of the sterile intergeneric hybrid ×Agropogon lutosus . From A. stolonifera, ×Agropogon differs by its awned lemmas. From P. monspesulensis, ×Agropogon differs in having more persistent spikelets, and lemmas with subterminal awns. [10]

ligule is pointed up to 5mm long Agrostis ligula.jpg
ligule is pointed up to 5mm long
leaf blade Agrostis Blatt.jpg
leaf blade
Inflorescence Agrostis stolonifera - Svensk botanik tab. 581.png
Inflorescence

Distribution

A. stolonifera is native to Eurasia and North Africa (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia). It is possible that it may also be native to northern parts of North America, and in any case it has been widely introduced and naturalised on that continent and in many other places. [4]

In New Zealand, Agrostis stolonifera naturalised in 1878, and is widespread throughout both main islands, as well as Chatham Islands, Auckland Islands, and Campbell Island. [11] As a weed of wetland areas, it competes with the Threatened - Nationally Vulnerable Lachnagrostis tenuis , and the At Risk - Declining Amphibromus fluitans . [12] [13]

Habitat

It can be found growing in a variety of habitats including woodlands, grasslands and meadows, wetlands, riparian zones, and as a pioneer species on disturbed sites. [5] [14]

In New Zealand, A. stolonifera is recognised as a Facultative Wetland plant, meaning that it is usually associated with wetlands and aquatic habitats. [11] It can exist up to 2,500 feet (760 m). [15]

Cultivation

It is the most commonly used species of Agrostis . [16]

It is used for turf in gardens and landscapes, particularly on golf courses. [5] Many of the putting greens as well as an increasing number of fairways in the northern USA are creeping bentgrass.

Transgenic varieties

In the 1990s, Scotts Miracle-Gro and Monsanto looked to produce glyphosate-resistant creeping bentgrass through an early use of transgenics. Plants were grown in the open at an experimental farm in Oregon in 2003. This led to the accidental establishment of uncontrolled feral populations through windborne seeds and pollen. Scotts Miracle-Gro was fined $500,000 as a result. [17] In 2017, the USDA agreed not to regulate it at Scotts request, which meant that Scotts "will no longer be legally required to pay to clean up the grass after 2017, though it has promised to do so." [18] A 2004 study documented gene flow of transgenic plants on a landscape level, with sentinel and resident plants observed by scientist at a maximum at 21 kilometres (13 mi) and 14 km (8.7 mi) (respectively), located in primarily nonagronomic places such as irrigation ditches. [19] Subsequently, a 2017 study found that despite mitigation efforts, the transgene was still present in feral populations of the A. stolonifera. Furthermore, it found that transgenic A. stolonifera had hybridised with A. gigantea and Polypogon monspeliensis , producing potentially transgenic hybrid offspring. [20] Hybrids between A. stolonifera and A. gigantea are fertile, raising the possibility that the transgene could spread into populations of A. gigantea . [21] However, intergeneric hybrids with Polypogon monspeliensis (called ×Agropogon ) are thought to be sterile. [10]

Other work in transgenic bentgrass looks into salinity tolerance. The improved performance of the transgenic plants was associated with higher relative water content, higher sodium uptake and lower solute leakage in leaf tissues, with higher concentrations of Na+, K+, Cl- and total phosphorus in root tissues, and with higher auxin accumulation rate in the root tissue. This transgenic plant can survive in the presence of 1.7% sodium chloride (half seawater salinity concentration), while the non transgenic line and wild type plants cannot. [22]

References

  1. Lansdown, R.V. (2014). "Agrostis stolonifera". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T164020A42383133. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T164020A42383133.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. NatureServe. "Agrostis stolonifera". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  3. 1 2 NRCS. "Agrostis stolonifera". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2010-03-16.
  4. 1 2 "Agrostis stolonifera". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2010-03-16.
  5. 1 2 3 Esser, Lora L. (1994). "Agrostis stolonifera". Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (USFS), Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
  6. Elmore, Matthew T.; Brosnan, James T.; Armel, Gregory R.; Vargas, Jose J.; Breeden, Gregory K. (2015). "Influence of Herbicide Safeners on Creeping Bentgrass ( Agrostis stolonifera ) Tolerance to Herbicides". Weed Technology. 29 (3): 550–560. Bibcode:2015WeedT..29..550E. doi:10.1614/WT-D-14-00045.1. S2CID   86197665.
  7. BSBI Description Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 2010-11-16.
  8. Connor (2000). "Agrostis L."
  9. Edgar, E.; Forde, M. B. (April 1991). "Agrostis L. in New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 29 (2): 139–161. Bibcode:1991NZJB...29..139E. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1991.10416717. ISSN   0028-825X.
  10. 1 2 "×agropogon lutosus - FNA". floranorthamerica.org. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
  11. 1 2 "Agrostis stolonifera". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
  12. "Agrostis stolonifera". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
  13. "Amphibromus fluitans". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
  14. Connor (2000). "Agrostis stolonifera L."
  15. C. E. Hubbard (1978). Grasses. Penguin Books. ISBN   9780140132274.
  16. L. Watson; M. J. Dallwitz (2008). "The grass genera of the world: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval; including synonyms, morphology, anatomy, physiology, phytochemistry, cytology, classification, pathogens, world and local distribution, and references". The Grass Genera of the World. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  17. Notarianni, John (July 21, 2018). "How A Botched Experiment Sent GMO Grass Creeping Across Oregon". OPB. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  18. Main, Douglas (January 17, 2017). "USDA Agrees to Not Regulate Genetically Modified Grass On the Loose In Oregon" . Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  19. Lidia S. Watrud; E. Henry Lee; Anne Fairbrother; Connie Burdick; Jay R. Reichman; Mike Bollman; Marjorie Storm; George King & Peter K. Van de Water (2004). "Evidence for landscape-level, pollen-mediated gene flow from genetically modified creeping bentgrass with CP4 EPSPS as a marker". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 101 (40): 14533–14538. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10114533W. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0405154101 . PMC   521937 . PMID   15448206.
  20. Zapiola, María Luz; Mallory-Smith, Carol Ann (2017-03-03). Olsen, Kenneth M (ed.). "Pollen-mediated gene flow from transgenic perennial creeping bentgrass and hybridization at the landscape level". PLOS ONE. 12 (3): e0173308. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1273308Z. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173308 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   5336273 . PMID   28257488.
  21. Wipff, J.K. (2002). "Gene flow in turf and forage grasses (Poaceae)". Ecological and Agronomic Consequences of Gene Flow from Transgenic Crops to Wild Relatives. Meeting Proceedings.
  22. ZHIGANG LI, Christian M. Baldwin, Qian Hu, Haibo Liu, Hong Luo (2010). Heterologous Expression of Arabidopsis H+-PPase Enhances Salt Tolerance in Transgenic Creeping Bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.). Plant, Cell and Environ, Volume 33 Issue 2, P. 272–289.