Briza media | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Poaceae |
Subfamily: | Pooideae |
Genus: | Briza |
Species: | B. media |
Binomial name | |
Briza media | |
Briza media is a perennial grass in the family Poaceae and is a species of the genus Briza .
Common name includes quaking-grass, common quaking grass, cow-quake, didder, dithering-grass, dodder-grass, doddering dillies, doddle-grass, earthquakes, jiggle-joggles, jockey-grass, lady's-hair, maidenhair-grass, pearl grass, quakers, quakers-and-shakers, shaking-grass, tottergrass, and wag-wantons.
B. media flowers from June to September in the UK, and is characterised by its fine stems and distinctive hops-shaped green and purplish spikelets. [1] The plant is a loosely tufted perennial with short rhizomes arising from vegetative shoots. The culms typically attain a height of 15 – 60 cm, while the hairless dull glaucous to mid-green leaves are usually 4 – 20 cm long, 2 – 4 cm wide. They possess minute forward-pointing hairs with a slender boat-shaped tip.
The loose, roughly pyramidal panicles are 4 – 10 cm long, with up to 20 branches and 60 spikelets. The spikelets are 4 – 7 mm long, loosely scattered and drooping, laterally compressed and elliptic to ovate in shape.
This grass species is common in England and Wales but rare in northern Scotland. [1] It is native and widely distributed in Britain and Europe, except for the extreme north. It is absent from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Isles of Scilly and the far north and south of Ireland. [2]
In North America, the species has been introduced and occurs in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Vermont in the USA, and in British Columbia and Ontario in Canada. [3]
B. media is a characteristic species of unimproved species-rich grassland, grazed calcareous grassland and pasture, fens, old meadows, scree slopes, quarry soils and roadside verges. [4] Its seeds are consumed by many farmland birds. It is reported to be a poor competitor and therefore negatively impacted by a high density of neighbouring plants in unmanaged grassland. [5] It appears able to tolerate a relatively high grazing regime [2]
Predominantly a species of calcareous grassland, B. media occurs with a high constancy in multiple plant community types as defined by the National Vegetation Classification. [6] [7] These include, but are by no means restricted to, CG1 Festuca ovina – Carlina vulgaris to the CG10 Festuca ovina – Agrostis capillaris – Thymus praecox as well as the mesotrophic MG3 Anthoxanthum odoratum – Geranium sylvaticum grasslands.
The plant is grazed by several insect species, including the larvae of Leptopterna ferrugata , Apamea scolopacina , Phytomyza nigra, as well as the larvae and adults of Eriophyes tenuis, causing leaf rolling and sterility. [2]
The subspecies Briza media subsp. media occurs throughout the species’ range, while subspecies elatior (Sibth. & Sm.) Rohlena occurs in southeast Europe. [2]
There are no known hybrids. [2]
It is distinguished from the closely related Briza maxima by the size of the flower spikelets.
Festuca ovina, sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue.
This article gives an overview of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.
Lolium perenne, common name perennial ryegrass, English ryegrass, winter ryegrass, or ray grass, is a grass from the family Poaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but is widely cultivated and naturalised around the world.
Whitton Bridge Pasture is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the unitary authority of Stockton-on-Tees, England. At 3.18 hectares (7.9 acres) it lies to the south of Whitton village and north west of Stockton-on-Tees. SSSIs are chosen by Natural England, and Whitton Bridge Pasture was designated in 2004 because of its biological interest. It is one of 18 SSSIs in the Cleveland area of search.
Ham Hill is a hill and area of chalk downland in Wiltshire, England, on the steep banks running alongside the road from the village of Ham to Buttermere, close to the Berkshire border. A biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, notified in 1971, covers 1.5 hectares of the site; this designation is due to the site's species-rich plant and insect communities, which include some rare species. Notable among these is the musk orchid, which has been confirmed at only one other site in Wiltshire.
Lolium pratense, meadow fescue is a perennial species of grass, which is often used as an ornamental in gardens, and is also an important forage crop. It grows in meadows, roadsides, old pastures, and riversides on moist, rich soils, especially on loamy and heavy soils.
NVC community CG2 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of three short-sward communities associated with heavy grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group, and is regarded as "typical" chalk grassland.
NVC community CG10 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. Of the upland group of calcicolous grasslands, it is the only one with a short sward associated with heavy grazing.
Montia fontana, blinks is a herbaceous annual to perennial plant that grows in freshwater springs in upland regions, and in seasonally damp acid grassland in the lowlands. It is widespread throughout the world, except in southern Asia. It is rather variable in morphology, which is reflected in a complex history of taxonomy. Currently, there are three accepted subspecies which are defined largely by the appearance of the seedcoat. It is edible and consumed as a salad in some areas, but is otherwise of minimal economic impact. Because of its association with clean water habitats, it is often viewed as a species of conservation value.
Festuca rubra is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue, creeping red fescue or the rush-leaf fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to well-drained soils in cool, temperate climates; it prefers shadier areas and is often planted for its shade tolerance. Wild animals browse it, but it has not been important for domestic forage due to low productivity and palatability. It is also an ornamental plant for gardens.
Lolium arundinaceum, tall fescue is a cool-season perennial C3 species of grass that is native to Europe. It occurs on woodland margins, in grassland and in coastal marshes. It is also an important forage grass with many cultivars that used in agriculture and is used as an ornamental grass in gardens, and sometimes as a phytoremediation plant.
NVC community CG3 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of four communities of rank, tussocky grassland associated with low levels of grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group.
NVC community CG4 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of four communities of rank, tussocky grassland associated with low levels of grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group.
NVC community CG6 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of four communities of rank, tussocky grassland associated with low levels of grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group.
NVC community CG5 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of four communities of rank, tussocky grassland associated with low levels of grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group.
NVC community CG1 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of three short-sward communities associated with heavy grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group, and is regarded as the south-west coastal counterpart of "typical" chalk grassland.
British NVC community OV37 is one of the open habitat communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of six communities of crevice, scree and spoil vegetation.
British NVC community OV38 is one of the open habitat communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of six communities of crevice, scree and spoil vegetation.
Festuca thurberi is a species of grass known by the common name Thurber's fescue. It is native to a section of the western United States encompassing New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. It probably also occurs in parts of Arizona.
Lolium giganteum, giant fescue, is a woodland grass that grows on neutral to base-rich soils, often near streams or other damp places. It is native to Europe and much of Asia and has been introduced to parts of North America.