Agrostis canina

Agrostis canina
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Agrostis
Species: A. canina
Binomial name
Agrostis canina
L.

Agrostis canina, known as brown bent or velvet bent,[2] is a species of grass.

Description

Inflorescence

Agrostis canina is a perennial plant, with stolons but no rhizomes, and culms which grow to a height of up to 75 centimetres (30 in).[3] It is frequently confused with Agrostis vinealis (formerly treated as a subspecies or variety of A. canina), which grows in more upland habitats and has rhizomes rather than stolons.[2]

The leaf blades are 2–15 cm (0.8–5.9 in) long and 1–3 mm (0.04–0.12 in) wide,[4] with an acute or acuminate ligule up to 4 mm (0.16 in) long.[3]

The plant flowers from May to July,[2] and the inflorescence is a panicle 3–16 cm (1.2–6.3 in) long and up to 7 cm (2.8 in) wide, with rough branches.[4] Each spikelet is 1.9–2.5 mm (0.07–0.10 in) long; the lemma is 1.6 mm (0.063 in) long with an awn attached around the middle.[2]

Distribution and ecology

The range of Agrostis canina covers most of Europe and temperate parts of Asia, and extends from sea level to the alpine zone.[5] It has also been introduced to eastern North America, Hawaiʻi, Algeria, the Kerguelen Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.[1]

Agrostis canina is sensitive to drought,[5] but is common in damp places, including ditches and lake margins.[6]

The short, green growth of A. canina has made it popular as a lawn grass.[4]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Agrostis canina.
  1. 1 2 Lansdown, R.V. (2014). "Agrostis canina". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Ann Fowler Rhoads, Timothy A. Block & Anna Aniśko (2007). "Agrostis L.". The Plants of Pennsylvania: an Illustrated Manual (2nd ed.). University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 322 326. ISBN 978-0-8122-4003-0.
  3. 1 2 Clive A. Stace (2010). "Agrostis L. – Bents". New Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 1026–1030. ISBN 978-0-521-70772-5.
  4. 1 2 3 C. E. Hubbard (1984). "Velvet bent – Agrostis canina L. subsp. canina". Grasses: a Guide to their Structure, Identification, Uses and Distribution in the British Isles (3rd ed.). Penguin Books. pp. 294–295. ISBN 978-0-14-013227-4.
  5. 1 2 Alain Peeters. "Agrostis canina L.". Grassland Spsecies Profiles. Food and Agriculture Organization. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  6. Carl Farmer. "Velvet Bent. Agrostis canina s.s.". West Highland Flora. Retrieved February 14, 2011.

External links

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