Danthonia intermedia

Last updated

Danthonia intermedia
Danthonia intermedia.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Danthonia
Species:
D. intermedia
Binomial name
Danthonia intermedia
Synonyms

Danthonia canadensis

Danthonia intermedia is a species of grass known by the common names timber oatgrass, intermediate oatgrass, and mountain wild-oat grass. [1] This clumping erect perennial grass is native to North America, where it is widespread across most of Canada and along the western United States into California. It is a plant of the plains as well as forested, mountainous, alpine environments.

Danthonia intermedia in mountain meadow at 10,000 ft (3,000 m) Danthonia intermedia mountain wild-oat grass.jpg
Danthonia intermedia in mountain meadow at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)

The bunchgrass reaches about half a meter in height at maximum. Its leaves are short and mostly basal. Each inflorescence is a narrow cluster of up to about ten spikelets, each spikelet holding 3 to 6 florets. The flowers are cleistogamous, meaning they remain closed and pollinate themselves. This grass also sometimes undergoes apomixis, reproduction without fertilization. This independence of the need for pollination between individuals is one reason why this grass is so widespread and able to tolerate a variety of climates.

This is a desirable grass for grazing land because it begins growing earlier in the spring than most other grasses, and it tolerates heavy grazing better than some other grasses because of its basal meristem, that is, new growth occurs low on the grass instead of on the tip where it can be chewed off. This grass is an indicator of ecological climax in many ecosystems.

Related Research Articles

<i>Paspalum notatum</i> Species of plant

Paspalum notatum, known commonly as bahiagrass, common bahia, and Pensacola bahia, is a tropical to subtropical perennial grass. It is known for its prominent V-shaped inflorescence consisting of two spike-like racemes containing multiple tiny spikelets, each about 2.8–3.5 millimetres (0.11–0.14 in) long.

<i>Muhlenbergia schreberi</i> Species of flowering plant

Muhlenbergia schreberi, the nimblewill, is a grass species native to North America.

<i>Lolium perenne</i> Species of plant

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.

<i>Distichlis spicata</i> Species of grass

Distichlis spicata is a species of grass known by several common names, including seashore saltgrass, inland saltgrass, and desert saltgrass. This grass is native to the Americas, where it is widespread. It can be found on other continents as well, where it is naturalized. It is extremely salt tolerant.

<i>Muhlenbergia rigens</i> Species of plant

Muhlenbergia rigens, commonly known as deergrass, is a warm season perennial bunchgrass. It is found in sandy or well-drained soils below 7,000 feet (2,100 m) in elevation in the Southwestern United States and parts of Mexico.

<i>Danthonia californica</i> Species of grass

Danthonia californica is a species of grass known by the common name California oatgrass. This plant is native to two separate regions of the Americas, western North America from California to Saskatchewan, and Chile.

<i>Digitaria sanguinalis</i> Species of grass

Digitaria sanguinalis is a species of grass known by several common names, including hairy crabgrass, hairy finger-grass, large crabgrass, crab finger grass, purple crabgrass. It is one of the better-known species of the genus Digitaria, and one that is known nearly worldwide as a common weed. It is used as animal fodder, and the seeds are edible and have been used as a grain in Germany and especially Poland, where it is sometimes cultivated. This has earned it the name Polish millet.

<i>Eragrostis pectinacea</i> Species of plant

Eragrostis pectinacea is a species of grass known by the common name tufted lovegrass. This plant is native to the Americas from Canada to Argentina. It is widespread, growing in most open spaces at varying elevations and habitats, including in disturbed areas and roadsides.

<i>Bothriochloa barbinodis</i> Species of plant

Bothriochloa barbinodis is a species of grass known by the common name cane bluestem. It is native to the Americas, including most of South and Central America, Mexico, and the southernmost continental United States from California to Florida.

<i>Bromus vulgaris</i> Species of flowering plant

Bromus vulgaris is a species of brome grass known by the common name Columbia brome.

<i>Danthonia unispicata</i> Species of grass

Danthonia unispicata is a species of grass known by the common name onespike oatgrass, or onespike danthonia.

<i>Tripsacum dactyloides</i> Species of flowering plant

Tripsacum dactyloides, commonly called eastern gamagrass, or Fakahatchee grass, is a warm-season, sod-forming bunch grass. It is widespread in the Western Hemisphere, native from the eastern United States to northern South America. Its natural habitat is in sunny moist areas, such as along watercourses and in wet prairies. In some areas, it has adapted well to disturbed conditions.

<i>Spartina pectinata</i> Species of grass

Spartina pectinata is a species of cordgrass known as prairie cordgrass, freshwater cordgrass, tall marshgrass, and sloughgrass. It is native to much of North America, including central and eastern Canada and most of the contiguous United States except for the southwestern and southeastern regions. Its distribution extends into Mexico. It is also present on other continents as an introduced species.

<i>Achnatherum thurberianum</i> Species of flowering plant

Achnatherum thurberianum is a species of grass known by the common name Thurber's needlegrass. It is native to the western United States, where it occurs from Washington to California and east to Montana and Wyoming.

<i>Danthonia compressa</i> Species of grass

Danthonia compressa is a species of grass known by the common names mountain oatgrass, flattened oatgrass, and slender oatgrass.

<i>Nassella viridula</i> Species of flowering plant

Nassella viridula is a species of grass known by the common name green needlegrass. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in western Canada and the western and central United States. It is introduced in parts of eastern North America.

<i>Dichanthelium clandestinum</i> Species of grass

Dichanthelium clandestinum is a species of grass known by the common name deertongue. It is native to eastern North America, including eastern Canada and the eastern United States.

<i>Panicum anceps</i> Species of flowering plant

Panicum anceps is a species of grass known by the common name beaked panicgrass. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it occurs as far north as New Jersey and as far west as Kansas and Texas.

<i>Poa fendleriana</i> Species of grass

Poa fendleriana is a species of grass known by the common name muttongrass. It is native to western North America, where its distribution extends from western Canada to northern Mexico.

<i>Bothriochloa pertusa</i> Species of plant

Bothriochloa pertusa is a species of grass. It is widely used as a fodder and a graze for livestock.

References

  1. Cathy Rose, Stephen Ingram (2015). Rock Creek Wildflowers. California Native Plant Society Press.