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Alpine Foxtail

Alopecurus magellanicus Lam.

Physical Description

provided by USDA PLANTS text
Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Rhizomes present, Rhizome elongate, creeping, stems distant, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems geniculate, decumbent, or lax, sometimes rooting at nodes, Stems caespitose, tufted, or clustered, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspi cuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly open, or loose, Leaf sheath smooth, glabrous, Leaf sheath and blade differentiated, Leaf sheath enlarged, inflated or distended, Leaf blades linear, Leaf blades 2-10 mm wide, Leaf blades mostly flat, Leaf blades mostly glabrous, Ligule present, Ligule an unfringed eciliate membrane, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence a dense slender spike-like panicle or raceme, branches contracted, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fascicle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Inflorescence densely corymbose, paniculate, or capitate, rays reduced or absent, Inflorescence spike linear or cylindric, several times longer than wide, Inflorescence single raceme, fascicle or spike, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets pedicellate, Spikelets laterally compressed, Spikelet less than 3 mm wide, Spikelets with 1 fertile floret, Spikelets solitary at rachis nodes, Spikelets all alike and fertille, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets disarticulating below the glumes, Rachilla or pedicel glabrous, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 2 clearly present, Glumes equal or subequal, Glumes equal to or longer than adjacent lemma, Glume margins connate at base, Glumes keeled or winged, Glume surface hairy, villous or pilose, Glume hairs wooly, Glumes 3 nerved, Lemmas thin, chartaceous, hyaline, cartilaginous, or membranous, Lemma margins connate below, Lemma 5-7 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma body or surface hairy, Lemma apex truncate, rounded, or obtuse, Lemma distinctly awned, more than 2-3 mm, Lemma with 1 awn, Lemma awn less than 1 cm long, Lemma awn 1-2 cm long, Lemma awn subapical or dorsal, Lemma awns straight or curved to base, Lemma margins thin, lying flat, Lemma straight, Stamens 3, Styles 1, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis, Caryopsis ellipsoid, longitudinally grooved, hilum long-linear.
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Alopecurus aequalis var. sonomensis

provided by wikipedia EN

Alopecurus aequalis var. sonomensis, commonly known as Sonoma alopecurus, is a species of grass endemic to parts of California. It is considered endangered. It is sometimes considered a taxonomic synonym of Alopecurus magellanicus.[1]

Description

Sonoma alopecurus is a perennial grass that grows up to 2.5 feet tall in wet soils and freshwater marshes.[2] It flowers from May to July.[3]

Distribution

Though once found at sites across Sonoma and Marin Counties, it may no longer occur anywhere outside of Point Reyes. Much of its former wetland habitat has been destroyed or significantly altered for development and agriculture. Ecologists have attempted to expand its range via reintroductions without success. In Point Reyes, the main population is located in a marsh among the dunes on a parcel on the Point Reyes peninsula formerly owned by AT&T.[2]

Population decline and restoration efforts

The species was proposed to be endangered on August 2, 1995. It was listed as endangered on October 22, 1997. There is estimated to be as few as 1,000 extant plants.[4]

The decline of Sonoma alopecurus coincided with the end of cattle grazing in the region. Evidently, periodic grazing is beneficial to the survival of the species. Ecologists suspect it helps by reducing the abundance of adjacent plant species and giving the endangered grass more space to thrive.[2]

Initially, the Point Reyes National Seashore staff worked with ranchers to bring back prescribed grazing with the help of electric fencing around the area where the Sonoma alopecurus population occurs. The effort did not last long. Unstable soils, high winds, and cattle disturbance caused the fence to fall over, minimizing the effectiveness of grazing efforts.[2]

As a result, Point Reyes has worked to install a barbed wire fence along the wetland. In 2020, the park applied for and received a regional NPS block grant to finish the final 2,000 feet of fence construction. Completed that November, the fence allows Sonoma alopecurus habitat to be efficiently, intensively grazed during the winter when the grass is not flowering or setting seed. The area is continually monitored by ecologists.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Alopecurus aequalis var. sonomensis P.Rubtzov". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from Reinstituting Grazing to Save an Endangered Plant. National Park Service. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Alopecurus aequalis var. sonomensis". ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Alopecurus aequalis var. sonomensis". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
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Alopecurus aequalis var. sonomensis: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN

Alopecurus aequalis var. sonomensis, commonly known as Sonoma alopecurus, is a species of grass endemic to parts of California. It is considered endangered. It is sometimes considered a taxonomic synonym of Alopecurus magellanicus.

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cc-by-sa-3.0
copyright
Wikipedia authors and editors
original
visit source
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wikipedia EN