Difference between revisions of "Koeleria macrantha"

From Puget Prairie Plants
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==Description==
 
==Description==
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Prairie junegrass is a native, perennial, cool season tufted bunchgrass found on rangelands, plains and open forestlands. It is commonly 0.5-2 feet tall. The narrow leaves form small basal clusters from which arise several seedheads.
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Native, perennial, cool season bunchgrass.<ref name=":0">Ogle,
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Daniel G. 2012. Plant fact sheet for prairie junegrass (Koeleria macrantha).
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USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Boise, ID</ref>
  
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Leaves are basal, flat to in-rolled and sharply pointed. The seedheads are narrow contracted panicles and have the appearance of dense spikes, one per stem. The spikelets are normally pale green to purplish in color. Fine hairs are found on the reproductive stem just below the seedhead.
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Leaf sheaths are open, leaves are 1-2mm broad, and basally tufted.
  
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The glumes are sharp and shiny. This is one of the first grasses to green-up in the early spring. Prairie junegrass is a perennial grass of medium longevity found in a wide variety of native plant communities.
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Culms are 3-6 dm tall, topped with fluffy-appearing, congested inflorescences (4-13cm.) which form a spike-like panicle.
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The spikelets are mostly 2-flowered and are borne on short pedicels with paleas shorter than the lemmas<ref name=":1">Bowcutt, F., & Hamman, Sarah. (2016). ''Vascular plants
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of the South Sound prairies'' (First ed.). Olympia, Washington: The Evergreen
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State College Press.</ref>
 
==Bloom Period==
 
==Bloom Period==
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May - June
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May - June<ref name=":1" />
 
==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==
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The range of prairie junegrass extends from Ontario to British Columbia, south to Delaware, California and Mexico.
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Alaska south, on both sides of Cascades, to northern Mexico, east across most of North America to Atlantic.<ref>Hitchcock, C. L., Cronquist, A., Giblin, D., & Legler,
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B. et al. (2018). ''Flora of the Pacific Northwest: an illustrated manual''.
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Seattle: University of Washington Press.</ref>
 
==Habitat==
 
==Habitat==
 
Dry, sandy prairies; open woods; rocky slopes
 
Dry, sandy prairies; open woods; rocky slopes
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Dry, well-drained soils such as silts to loams to sandy loams
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Dry, well-drained soils such as silts to loams to sandy loams. It has good tolerance to fire.<ref name=":0" />
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Prefers 6.5- 8.0 pH soils, no salinity tolerance
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High water use – drought tolerant
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Sun – shade tolerant
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Prairie Junegrass acts as a seral recolonizer of previously water-stressed areas and played a leading role in recolonizing bare soil of mid-continental grasslands after the droughts of 1933 to 1940
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==Uses==
 
==Uses==
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Prairie junegrass is used as a component of native seed mixtures in revegetation of mined lands, heavy use areas and other surface disturbed lands.
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Prairie junegrass is used as a component of native seed mixtures in revegetation of mined lands, heavy use areas and other surface disturbed lands.Prairie Junegrass acts as a early- seral species of previously water-stressed areas.<ref>Simonin, Kevin. 2000. Koeleria macrantha. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
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Medium palatable for browsing animals and high palatability for grazing animals. Prairie junegrass is considered a fair to good forage for elk throughout the year and is desirable forage for deer and antelope in the spring and early summer.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
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Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer).
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Available: <nowiki>https://www.fs.fed.us</nowiki>
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/database/feis/plants/graminoid/junroe/all.html [2020, June 9].</ref>
  
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==Propagation==
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Medium palatable for browsing animals and high palatability for grazing animals. Prairie junegrass is considered a fair to good forage for elk throughout the year and is desirable forage for deer and antelope in the spring and early summer.<ref name=":0" />
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Prairie junegrass is not recommended for fall or dormant fall seedings. It does best when seeded in the spring. Young plants are subject to thinning by frost heaving and soil cracking during winter and very early spring. The full monoculture seeding rate for drill application is 1 PLS pound per acre. Use the appropriate percentage of this rate when planting native seed mixtures. The seed should be planted into a clean, weed-free, firm seedbed at soil surface to 1/8-inch depth because seed requires light to achieve maximum germination.
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==References==
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==Photo Gallery==
 
==Photo Gallery==
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File:KOEMAC6.jpg|Courtesy of CNLM
 
File:KOEMAC6.jpg|Courtesy of CNLM
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
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=== References ===

Revision as of 17:36, 9 June 2020

  • Latin Name: Koeleria macrantha
  • Family: Poaceae
  • Common Names: Koeler's prairie grass, prairie junegrass
  • Synonyms/Misapplications: Koeleria cristata, Koeleria gracilis, Koeleria nitida, Koeleria yukonensis
  • Codon: KOEMAC

Taxonomy

Description

Native, perennial, cool season bunchgrass.[1]

Leaf sheaths are open, leaves are 1-2mm broad, and basally tufted.

Culms are 3-6 dm tall, topped with fluffy-appearing, congested inflorescences (4-13cm.) which form a spike-like panicle.

The spikelets are mostly 2-flowered and are borne on short pedicels with paleas shorter than the lemmas[2]

Bloom Period

May - June[2]

Distribution

Alaska south, on both sides of Cascades, to northern Mexico, east across most of North America to Atlantic.[3]

Habitat

Dry, sandy prairies; open woods; rocky slopes Dry, well-drained soils such as silts to loams to sandy loams. It has good tolerance to fire.[1]

Uses

Prairie junegrass is used as a component of native seed mixtures in revegetation of mined lands, heavy use areas and other surface disturbed lands.Prairie Junegrass acts as a early- seral species of previously water-stressed areas.[4]

Medium palatable for browsing animals and high palatability for grazing animals. Prairie junegrass is considered a fair to good forage for elk throughout the year and is desirable forage for deer and antelope in the spring and early summer.[1]

Photo Gallery

  • photo by Craig Althen, 2010.

  • Sheathing leaf, photo by Robert L. Carr, 2013

  • Photo Robert L. Carr, 2013

  • Seedling, courtesy of CNLM

  • Courtesy of CNLM

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ogle, Daniel G. 2012. Plant fact sheet for prairie junegrass (Koeleria macrantha). USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Boise, ID
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bowcutt, F., & Hamman, Sarah. (2016). Vascular plants of the South Sound prairies (First ed.). Olympia, Washington: The Evergreen State College Press.
  3. ↑ Hitchcock, C. L., Cronquist, A., Giblin, D., & Legler, B. et al. (2018). Flora of the Pacific Northwest: an illustrated manual. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
  4. ↑ Simonin, Kevin. 2000. Koeleria macrantha. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://www.fs.fed.us /database/feis/plants/graminoid/junroe/all.html [2020, June 9].
Retrieved from "http://wikis.evergreen.edu/pugetprairieplants/index.php?title=Koeleria_macrantha&oldid=4141"

The Evergreen State College