CAUCASIAN BLUESTEM
|
|
File Size: 120 KB |
|
|
Bothriochloa bladhii (Retz. ) S.T. Blake
|
[=Andropogon bladhii Retz.] | [=Bothriochloa caucasica (Trin. ) Hubb., C.E.] |
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
Perennial |
Height: 2 to 3 feet |
Family: Poaceae - Grass Family |
Flowering Period: July, August, September,October |
|
Also Called: | | Australian bluestem, australian beardgrass. | Culms: | | Erect, slender, solid, glabrous, grooved on 1 side, bearded or glabrous at nodes. | Blades: | | Flat or rolled outward, linear-lanceolate, 2-15 inches long, less than 1/4 inch wide, glabrous, midrib prominent; tips tapered to fine points. | Sheaths: | | Glabrous, slightly keeled. | Ligules: | | Inconspicuously fringed membrane. | Inflorescences: | | Panicles, elongate, 2.5 to 6 inches long, pale green to purplish, axis longer than branches; branches slender, whorled, sometimes re-branching; rachis joints soft-hairy. | Spikelets: | | In pairs; sessile spikelets perfect, somewhat hairy at bases, slightly larger than stalked spikelets; fertile lemmas with awns 1/2 to 3/4 inch long. | Habitat: | | Waste ground, roadsides, and pastures, more abundant on heavy-textured soils. | Distribution: | | Scattered in east three fourths of Kansas. | Origin: | | Naturalized from Australia and South Asia. | Forage Value: | | Occasionally planted for forage, but of only fair value. | Comments: | | Tufted grass that is invasive and can become a serious weed issue. Tolerates drought conditions. The leaves have a turpentine-like odor when crushed. |
|
Caucasian bluestem inflorescence | | 72 KB | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| Caucasian bluestem anthers and stigmas | | 64 KB | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| Caucasian bluestem collar and ligule | | 60 KB | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| Caucasian bluestem | | 174 KB | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| Caucasian bluestem | | 151 KB | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| Caucasian bluestem inflorescence | | 51 KB | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| Caucasian bluestem | | 114 KB | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| | | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|