Holcus mollis
Soft honey grass ( Holcus mollis )
The soft honey grass ( Holcus mollis ) is a species within the family of grasses ( Poaceae ). It is widely used in Europe.
Regional trivial names are as high moor Wheatgrass, Ristgras or Saatgras.
- 6.1 Notes and references
Description
Appearance and leaf
The soft honey grass is an evergreen, perennial herbaceous plant that reaches the stature heights between 20 to 100 centimeters. It forms loose grass or dense clumps with erect or spreading stems. The aboveground plant parts are hairy only sparse and short. The lower part of the stalk reason is veined reddish- brown to brownish subsoil. The bare to sparsely hairy stems are thin and have four to seven nodes with dense beard of hair.
The leaves are divided into leaf sheath and blade. Sheaths are rounded on the back, glabrous or slightly hairy, then with folded-back hair. The ligule ( ligules ) are membranous, denticulate, obtuse and about 1-5 millimeters long. The leaf blades are tapered, reaching 4 to 20 centimeters in length and up to 12 mm width. They are flat, gray-green, very short hair or bald and feel slightly rough.
Inflorescence and flower
The whitish, pale gray or purple, total paniculate inflorescences are narrow -ovate or ovate, very tight to loose and 4 to 12 inches long. The panicle branches are hairy. The oblong to elliptic, 4-6 mm long spikelets closed fall off when ripe. The spikelets are usually two, rarely dreiblütig, the lower flower is hermaphrodite, the upper usually male. The papery glumes are about as long as the spikelet and are covered with short stiff keels and nerves. The bottom is narrow - lanceolate and einnervig; the upper ovate to elliptic, three annoying. The lemmas are 2.5 to 3 millimeters long and are completely enclosed by the glumes. You are indistinctly five annoying and wearing a beard at the base of hair. You are on the upper side smooth or finely hairy and shiny. The bottom is blunt and awnless; the upper is awned on the back near the top. This awn is only slightly bent to between 3.5 and 5 millimeters long and is and emerges from the glumes. The flowering period is between June and August.
Possible confusion
It is very similar to the overall stronger ( woolly haired ) Woolly honey grass ( Holcus lanatus ). However, this grass does not have long, tough rhizomes and Halmknoten are fluffy, not hairy bearded. Furthermore, it has hooked awns on the upper lemmas that do not protrude from the glumes.
Ecology
The soft honey grass is a rhizome Geophyt, a root - buds Geophyt and a Hemikryptophyt which forms loose turf. It is an acid, sand and Magerkeitszeiger and a soil stabilizer.
In Central Europe, it hardly bears fruit, instead finds an abundant vegetative reproduction by rhizomes instead. Even small rhizome pieces can grow again into new plants. In a soil depth of 15 to 20 cm about 40 meters rhizomes were found on one square meter of sand.
It is agriculturally as " weeds " especially on sandy fields, as it spreads over long creeping rhizomes and can develop new plants from each Rhizombruchstück.
Occurrence
The soft honey grass is spread throughout Europe. It is much less common than the similar Woolly honey grass ( Holcus lanatus ). It is North America a neophyte.
There is also scattered everywhere in Germany and area as often from the plains to altitudes of about 1500 meters.
It grows on almost all soils of heavy loams to sand. Preferably settled moderately fresh to dry, base- and nutrient-poor, highly acidic, musty - peaty, humic, sandy- stony soils. It is an acid- pointer and a half-shade plant. Its distribution area is in open forests and forest edges, mainly in shady areas, in overgrown shrub heaths and hedges, occasionally in poor grassland and upland moor grassland. Furthermore, it colonized lands or break meadows. In cultivated areas, it can not keep up with a good supply of nutrients and favorable lime household. Also on intensive grazing the grass comes back strong.
It is considered Verbandscharakterart of oak and birch forests, Quercion - robori - petraeae.
Pictures
Ligule
Rhizome