Cynosurus cristatus

Meadow grass comb ( Cynosurus cristatus)

The meadow grass comb or comb only grass ( Cynosurus cristatus ) is a native grass species in Central Europe from the family of grasses ( Poaceae ).

Features

The Meadow Crest grass is a perennial plant, forming dense clumps ( Hemikryptophyt ). It can also spread with very short rhizomes, forming dense lawn. Often, it is only two to five years old. The numerous renewal shoots grow up within the leaf sheaths. The stalks are 10 to 75, rarely up to 90 cm high. You stand upright, are smooth and hairless and usually have one to three nodes.

The leaf sheaths are serrated, smooth and bare. The lower fray. The ligule is a membranous hem of 0.5 to 1.5 mm in length. The leaf blades are 4-14 cm long and 1-2 (rarely to 3) mm wide. It is spread out flat, bald, or short hair on the upper leaf surface. In the upper third of it is rough.

The inflorescence is a panicle, which is 2-12 cm long and 5-10 mm wide. The Ährchengruppen are tight and contracted on one side of the main axis. The panicle branches are very short, branched. They are finely ciliate as the major axis and the Ährchenstiele. The individual spikelets are always next to a dense, stalked compartments of empty husks. Several spikelets stand together to short, knäueligen groups.

The single spikelet has two to five flowers. It is 3-6 mm long without awn. The florets fall to maturity of individually, stop their glumes. The glumes are almost the same, einnervig, 3 to 4.5 mm long. Seen from the side they are narrow - lanceolate and acuminate; they are thin-skinned, bald and have a rough keel. The lemmas are five annoying, three to four mm long. Their shape is lanceolate, with narrowly rounded top. The lemmas usually wear to a mm long, thin Grannenspitze. You are membranous, glabrous, rough around the edges and at the top. The palea are two annoying, shorter than the lemmas. Their shape is lanceolate, the upper end they are notched, the keels rough. The anthers are 1,8 to 2 mm long. The flowering time is June to August.

The fruit is 1.6 to 2 mm long. She is bald and has an elliptical outline.

The chromosome number is 2n = 14

Ecology

The Meadow Crest grass is a perennial, short-lived Hemikryptophyt.

The flowers are self-fertile and wind-pollinated from " Langstaubfädigen type". The flowering time is June to August.

Propagation unit are surrounded by deck and palea caryopses. There is wind spread instead, to mainly spread by step, ie Procrastination with soil that adheres the hooves of grazing animals. Maybe random spread to the lining; next people spread as a cultural companion. Light to germinate. Fruit ripening in August.

A vegetative propagation by the short spur is possible. Sometimes takes a viviparous form ( var vivipara RANDOM. ), In which the spikelets to develop foliage sprouts.

Dissemination and locations

The meadow grass crest occurs in most parts of Europe, as well as in Southwest Asia and the Azores. In North America, Australia and New Zealand, it was introduced. There is an element of submeridionalen to north - temperate zone Flore. It comes from the level up to middle mountain ranges before, but has only in Bergslagen higher stock shares. In the Black Forest, it rises to 1300 m in the Alps up to 1700 m.

It grows in meadows, pastures, on artificial turf, dirt roads and in open woods. In march and marshes, it is common. It prefers fresh, nutrient -and base- rich, mild to slightly acid clay and loamy soils. It is a Lehmzeiger, Fresh pointer and a pronounced light plant. It also comes in waterlogged situations and with adequate moisture also on sandy soil. Shunned be dry - sandy, strongly acidic, strong impoverished soils and dry climate.

In the phytosociological system, it is a Verbandskennart the fat pastures of the standing and Mähweiden ( Cynosurion cristati ). It is often represented in oat grass meadows ( Arrhenatherion ) and in gold oat mountain meadows ( Polygono - Trisetion ).

In Germany the species is listed as endangered in some states. In Austria, the species is common. In Switzerland, the species is endangered in any of the areas.

Use

The Meadow Crest grass is cultivated as a forage grass and a park lawn. It is readily eaten by cattle on pastures, especially young, tough stalks are, however, allowed to stand. In dry locations, it is ertragsarm, on rich, moist soils in humid locations but vigorous with dense grass and grazing resistant. Due to the early sprouting and self- sowing, it is a valuable grass in Bergslagen. Through fertilization, it is encouraged. In deep layers but it is easily displaced by stronger growth species. Therefore, it is considered mittelwertiges, low-yield grass especially the cold and humid locations.

Documents

In addition to the sources listed in the detailed records of the products based on the following documents:

• Hans Joachim Conert: Pareys grasses book. Identify and determine the grasses Germany. Blackwell, Berlin / Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-8263-3327-6, p 192
• R. Duell / H. Kutzelnigg: Pocket Dictionary of Plants in Germany and neighboring countries, 7th Edition, Quelle & Meyer Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-494-01424-1