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User:MtBotany/sandkasten

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MtBotany/sandkasten
Bouteloua dactyloides with pollen flowers Carter County, Montana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Bouteloua
Species:
B. dactyloides
Binomial name
Bouteloua dactyloides
(Nutt.) Columbus 1999
Synonyms[1]
List
    • Anthephora axilliflora Steud. (1854)
    • Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm. (1859)
    • Bouteloua mutica Griseb. ex E.Fourn. (1886)
    • Bulbilis dactyloides (Nutt.) Raf. (1819)
    • Calanthera dactyloides (Nutt.) Kunth (1856)
    • Casiostega hookeri Rupr. ex E.Fourn. (1876)
    • Casiostega humilis Rupr. ex Munro (1857)
    • Casiostega dactyloides (Nutt.) E.Fourn. (1876)
    • Melica mexicana Link ex E.Fourn. (1886)
    • Sesleria dactyloides Nutt. (1818)

Description edit

Bouteloua dactyloides is a perennial plant that spreads by stolons (runners).[3] A plant may extend stolons outward to reach a length of 15 to 45 centimetres (6 to 18 in) by the end of a growing season.[4] When blooming or going to seed it has short, upright stalks (clums) that may be anywhere from 1–30 centimeters tall.[3]

Buffalograss is a sod forming species usually forming a solid and tight mat of plants.[5] Roots are also numerous and thoroughly occupy the soil. The roots of buffalograss are significantly finer than those of most plains grasses, with a thickness of less than 1 mm (0.039 in) in diameter. Despite their narrow diameter they are quite tough and wire-like.[6]

Buffalograss usually produces pollen or seeds on separate plants and because it reproduces by stolons large patches of just one sex may form.[7] The seed producing flower stalks are much shorter than the pollen producing flower stalks, with the seed heads usually at the same level as the grass blades.[3][7] The flower heads are very modified compared with other grasses including the other grasses in the Bouteloua genus, looking like a round globe topped with short spikes.[5] When ripe the seeds are contained within a hard, round diaspore of between 3–4 millimeters in size.[8]

Taxonomy edit

Bouteloua dactyloides was first scientifically described by the early American botanist Thomas Nuttall in 1818 with the binomial name Sesleria dactyloides.[1] Nuttall described it as growing, " On the open grassy plains of the Missouri;".[9] His placement of the species in genus Sesleria was almost immediately disputed with Constantine Samuel Rafinesque publishing a description the next year placing it in a new genus, Bulbilis.[1][10] Also significant in the taxonomic history of the species is the 1859 description by George Engelmann of it as Buchloë dactyloides in the new genus Buchloë.[1] This genus name was a shortened form of Bubalochloe, a Latinized form of the common name buffalo grass.[11] Until the end of the 20th-century this was the most widely used name for the species. In 1999 James Travis Columbus published a paper recommending that Buchloe and several other smalls genuses be combined with Bouteloua placing buffalograss with the grama grasses.[3] As of 2024 this is the most widely used classification of this species including in Plants of the World Online (POWO),[1] World Flora Online,[12] and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS database.[13]

Names edit

The genus name comes from the family name of the 19th-century Spanish botanists Claudio and Esteban Boutelou.[14] It is known both as "buffalograss" and "buffalo grass",[15] though buffalo grass is also used as a common name for St. Augustine grass in Australia,[16] as an alternate name of Cenchrus ciliaris and Panicum stapfianum in South Africa,[17], and one of the names of Paspalum conjugatum in Singapore.[18] It is also occasionally called "gama grass".[11]

Range and habitat edit

Buffalograss is native to the shortgrass of North America from Canada to Mexico. In Canada it is found in the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.[1] In the United States it is primarily found in the great plains mostly west of the of the Mississippi from Minnesota and Montana in the north to New Mexico and Louisiana in the south. East of the Mississippi it is also found in Illinois, and in one county in Virginia and Georgia.[13] Though it is found in Wisconsin, POWO lists it as an introduced species in that state.[1] Similarly, NatureServe lists it as an introduced species in Virginia.[2] Though the World Plants database lists it as native there.[19] West of the Rocky Mountains it is also found in Arizona and in one county in both Utah and Nevada.[13] It is found through much of Northern Mexico from Sonora in the west to Tamaulipas in the east and south to Morelos and Veracruz, though the species is not found on the west coast south of Sonora.[19]

Worldwide it has become establish in Spain and Greece in Europe. In Asia it is not found in south-central and southeastern China.[1] It is also listed as growing outside cultivation in New Zealand.[19]

Along with blue grama it is the co-dominant species in most of the shortgrass prairie ecosystem in the western great plains.[20] Buffalograss is also an important component of the mixed grass prairie in drier areas and where impervious clay soils on slopes prevents the establishment of taller grasses. It also rapidly colonizes disturbed areas due to its vegetative reproduction.[4] It is a component of the Western Gulf coastal grasslands in Texas, Louisiana, and Tamaulipas.[21] Off the plains buffalograss is associated with eastern ponderosa pine forests as an understory plant, in the Cross Timbers ecoregion, and with mesquite and oak savannas.[20] In some locations, most often at higher elevations, in the semidesert grasslands of New Mexico and northern Mexico, buffalograss is also an important species with other grama grass species.[22]

Conservation edit

NatureServe evaluated buffalograss in 2015 with a conservation status of "Apparently Secure", G4. At the same time they found it to be "Secure" (S5) in Kansas and "Apparently Secure" (S4) in Montana and Wyoming, but did not evaluate most of its range at the state or provincial level.[2] The province of Manitoba considers it to be a "at risk" species as it is very rare there and in neighboring Saskatchewan.[23] NatureServe gave it a rating of "Critically Imperiled" (S1) in Manitoba and in Saskatchewan, Arizona, Iowa, and Utah. They consider it to be "Imperiled" (S2) in Illinois and "Vulnerable" (S3) in Minnesota. They list it as "Possibly Extripated" in Missouri.[2]

Ecology edit

Having a single sex on a plant (dioecious plant) is a reproductive strategy to reduce inbreeding by separating the wind pollinated flowers. More plants with both sexes on one plant are found near the edges of its range where it is less dominant and where it forms a more continuous sod there tend to be more single sex populations, with more pollen producing plants with increased resources such as light or nitrogen.[7] When rooting plants that are connected to each other avoid competition in rooting. After two months of independence from each other buffalograss plants compete for soil resources in the same way as with any other unrelated plant of the same species.[24] Germination without damage to the seed coat is low, but continues for a long time.[5]

Buffalograss is eaten by all types of livestock. It increases under heavy grazing pressure.[25]

The seeds of buffalograss break their dormancy more readily with some damage to the outer layers of the seed.[26] This is likely to be an adaptation to the grazing of buffalo as germination is also enhanced in experiments using cattle as substitute for buffalo. Once passed through the gut seeds showed a quicker germination than untreated counterparts.[8] The seeds also sprout during cold stratification rather than waiting for warmer temperatures.[26]

Uses edit

Cultivation edit

Only three North American grasses are both drought tolerant and suitable for use as a lawn. Of these, only buffalograss is commonly available and so it has become quite popular since the 1980s. Though the other two, blue grama and curly mesquite grass (Hilaria belangeri) are occasionally used.[27]

Many cultivars have been developed or collected for different purposes.[27]

Forage cultivars edit

Both "Texoka" and "Comanche" were developed to feed livestock and can reach as much as 12 inches in height.[27]

Lawn cultivars edit

Some of the many turf cultivars include "Prairie", "609", "Stampede",[27] "UC Verde",[28] and "Legacy".[29]

"Legacy": Also known as 'NE86-61', this cultivar was developed by the University of Nebraska.[30] It is an all female selection that does not produce pollen.[31] Like other all female selections it must be established from sod, plugs, or cuttings. Compared to other cultivars it has good cold hardiness and can be planted in USDA zone 2.[30]

"Prairie": This cultivar was developed by Texas and Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Stations. It was released in 1990 and has a denser foliage compared to many other selections. It is an all female cultivar and must be established from plugs or cuttings.[32] It is not well adapted to colder conditions and can experience significant winter kill in the Front Range region of Colorado.[33]

"609": The "609" cultivar was also developed by Texas and Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Stations and released in 1990.[32] Compared with other cultivars it has a deeper green color.[34] Like some other cultivars developed for warmer climates it is sensitive to cold, dry conditions and can experience significant winter kill in Colorado.[33]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Bouteloua dactyloides (Nutt.) Columbus". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d NatureServe (2024). "Buchloe dactyloides". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Snow, Neil. "Buchloë - FNA". Flora of North America. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b Albertson, F. W. (October 1937). "Ecology of Mixed Prairie in West Central Kansas". Ecological Monographs. 7 (4): 511–515, 518, 529, 537, 540, 541, 543. doi:10.2307/1943101.
  5. ^ a b c Clark, Lynn G.; Pohl, Richard W. (1996). Dutro, Nancy P. (ed.). Agnes Chase's First Book of Grasses : The Structure of Grasses Explained for Beginners (4th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-56098-656-0. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  6. ^ Weaver, J. E. (January 1958). "Summary and Interpretation of Underground Development in Natural Grassland Communities". Ecological Monographs. 28 (1): 55–78. doi:10.2307/1942275.
  7. ^ a b c Quinn, James A. (1998). "Ecological aspects of sex expression in grasses". In Cheplick, G.P. (ed.). Population Biology of Grasses. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 136, 13, 140–146. ISBN 978-0-521-57205-7. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  8. ^ a b Quinn, James A.; Mowrey, Daniel P.; Emanuele, Stephen M.; Whalley, Ralph D. B. (1994). "The "Foliage is the Fruit" Hypothesis: Buchloe dactyloides (Poaceae) and the Shortgrass Prairie of North America". American Journal of Botany. 81 (12): 1545–1554. doi:10.2307/2445331. ISSN 0002-9122. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  9. ^ Nuttall, Thomas (1818). The genera of North American plants : and a catalogue of the species, to the year 1817. Philadelphia: Printed for the Author by D. Heartt. p. 65. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Bulbilis Raf". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  11. ^ a b Darke, Rick; Griffiths, Mark, eds. (1994). The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary : Manual of Grasses. London: Macmillan Press, Ltd. pp. 28, 160. ISBN 978-0-333-61535-5. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Bouteloua dactyloides (Nutt.) Columbus". World Flora Online. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  13. ^ a b c Bouteloua dactyloides, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Profile, 5 March 2024
  14. ^ Soderstrom, Thomas R. (1969). "(261). Proposal to conserve the generic name Bouteloua Lagasca 1805, corr. 1816". Taxon. 18 (3): 342. ISSN 0040-0262. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  15. ^ Heady, Harold F. (1975). Rangeland Management. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 346. ISBN 978-0-07-027693-2. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  16. ^ Skerman, P. J.; Riveros, Fernando (1990). Tropical grasses. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ; [Laham, MD : UNIPUB]. p. 711. ISBN 978-92-5-101128-7. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  17. ^ Powrie, Les (2004). Common Names of Karoo Plants. Pretoria, South Africa: National Botanical Institute. p. 25. ISBN 1-874907-16-1.
  18. ^ Duistermaat, Helena (2005). Field Guide to the Grasses of Singapore (Excluding the Bamboos). Singapore: National Parks Board, Singapore Botanic Gardens. p. 106. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  19. ^ a b c Hassler, Michael (1 March 2024). "Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 19.1". World Plants. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  20. ^ a b Howard, Janet L. (1995). "Bouteloua dactyloides". Fire Effects Information System. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  21. ^ Diamond, David D.; Riskind, David H.; Orzell, Steve L. (1987). "A framework for plant community classification and conservation in Texas". The Texas Journal of Science. 39 (3). Texas Academy of Science: 211, 214. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  22. ^ Brown, David E. (1994). "Warm-Temperate Grasslands". Biotic Communities : Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-87480-459-1. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Manitoba's Species At Risk – Buffalograss – Buchloë dactyloides" (PDF). Government of Manitoba. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 1, 2017.
  24. ^ Chamovitz, Daniel (2017). What a Plant Knows : A Field Guide to the Senses. New York: Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-374-53712-8. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  25. ^ Johnson, James R.; Nichols, James T. (1982). "Plants of South Dakota Grasslands: A Photographic Study". Research Bulletins of the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. 566: 21. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  26. ^ a b Baskin, C.C.; Baskin, J.M. (1998). "Ecology of seed dormancy and germination in grasses". In Cheplick, G.P. (ed.). Population Biology of Grasses. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 33, 42. ISBN 978-0-521-57205-7. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  27. ^ a b c d NPC (2018). "Bouteloua dactyloides". Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Plant Database. The University of Texas at Austin. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  28. ^ "UC Verde Buffalograss". University of California, Davis. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  29. ^ "Legacy Buffalo Grass Plugs". High Country Gardens. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  30. ^ a b "Bouteloua dactyloides 'NE86-61' LEGACY® - LEGACY® buffalo grass". Santa Fe Botanical Garden. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  31. ^ "Waterwise, Low Mow Turf Grasses from Plugs". High Country Gardens. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  32. ^ a b Duble, Richard L. "Buffalo Grass". Texas Cooperative Extension. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  33. ^ a b Koski, T.; Cox, R. (2014). "Buffalograss Lawns - 7.224". CSU Extension. Colorado State University. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  34. ^ "609 Buffalograss". King Ranch Turfgrass. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
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