Lolium multiflorum

Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum )

The Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum, syn. Lolium italicum A. Brown ), also Italian ryegrass, perennial ryegrass Vielblütiges, Italian ryegrass or ryegrass Vielblütiger called, belongs to the family of grasses.

Distribution and location

The plant is native to the southern European - North African- Near Eastern region, but is today almost everywhere in the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, West Asia and parts of North America to find. In temperate regions of Australia, it probably comes before as a neophyte.

The grass colonized fresh, often nutrient-rich waste places such as roadsides and Waste places. However, it also grows in ruderal influenced fresh meadows and fields. The plant is common from the plains to the mountain stages. In terms of soil quality, the grass is a little challenging. It prefers base -rich, humus-rich soils, but also comes with standard lime, marl or clay soils cope.

Description

The Italian ryegrass is one to perennial and forms bright green, upright clumps. Individual plants are about 30 centimeters to one meter tall and roots up to one meter depth. You can then also survive long dry periods. The upper ward almost always rough stalks are branched at most at the bottom. The light green colored leaves are rolled in the bud and later spread out flat. On the bottom they appear shiny and smooth, upper side however, they are rough. At the base of the leaf ears is pulled in two sickle-shaped, the stalk embracing. Leaf blades to 25 cm long and can be up to 1 cm wide. They are only little rough and somewhat serrated. The ligule ( ligule ) is designed as a one to three millimeters long, membranous hem.

The most upright spike can be up to 30 cm long and has arranged alternate, scattered spikelets. These are almost protruding horizontally at flowering time and 11 - to 20 - flowered. When ripe they decompose quickly and its axis always feels rough. The lemma is about seven millimeters long and at least the upper ones are awned. The hairless, smooth glume is at most half as long as the spikelet, about as long as the lowest lemma and five -to seven- annoying. The lemma is against five annoying, about five to eight millimeters long, oblong- lanceolate and appears on the upper side dull. The awn is straight and can be up to 12 mm long. The two annoying Palea is about as long as the lemmas and long - elliptical in shape. The anthers are about four millimeters long. The caryopses are about 3.5 millimeters long and one millimeter wide. The grass blooms from June to August.

Use

The sweet grass is used as a forage plant, in Ansaatengrünland and park lawn. As part of the Landsberger batch it is used for forage or as a previous crop.

In addition, this plant can be used as a suitable bioindicator species for the detection of pollution. It is able to accumulate certain heavy metals in soils ( such as cadmium and lead) or air pollutants ( such as hydrogen fluoride and sulfur dioxide) ( bioaccumulation), and thus identify environmental stresses.