Saccharum ravennae

Ravenna grass ( Saccharum ravennae )

The Ravenna grass ( Saccharum ravennae ) is a plant of the family Gramineae ( Poaceae ). It is known as elephant grass alongside the African Napier grass ( Pennisetum purpureum ), the giant miscanthus ( Miscanthus × giganteus) and miscanthus ( Miscanthus sinensis). The German, or English common name " Ravenna grass" is derived from the northern Italian city of Ravenna.

• 4.1 Notes and references

Features

Vegetative characteristics

The Ravenna grass grows as a perennial herbaceous plant, reaching heights of growth of 1 meter, and at optimal growth conditions which prevail especially in the countries of origin of Ravenna grass, up to 4.5 meters. It formed nests. Like the related sugar cane plant is non-toxic and hardy. The blades have a diameter of about 1 cm and possess significant nodes present.

The leaves consist of a hairy leaf sheath with ligules and leaf blade. The lamina has a length of 30 to 100 cm and a width of 3 to 20 mm. She is shining gray - green and has a fine white line in the middle. In late autumn the Ravenna grass assumes an intense orange.

Generative features

The Ravenna grass blooms from September to October and keeps the buds over winter until the following spring. However, a prerequisite for bloom is a long, warm and sunny summer. Initially, the inflorescences light pink, but they change color after a few weeks first brown and finally silver. The Rispige total inflorescence is open, elliptical, and 25 to 70 cm long. In total inflorescence many spikelets stand together in pairs and terminates in a 1.5 to 3 cm long, racemose inflorescence part. The elliptical spikelets 3-6 ( to 6.5 ) mm length; they have their base a sterile flowers and many fertile flowers. The fertile flowers have three stamens with anthers 3 mm long. Are formed achenes.

Occurrence

The Ravenna grass comes in the southwestern and southeastern Europe, in the northern and north-eastern tropical Africa, in temperate regions of Central Asia, the Caucasus, Western Asia, on the Arabian Peninsula and China, in tropical Asia (Indian subcontinent and Indochina ) and in the southwestern United States. The Ravenna grass grows in semi-arid to arid areas of shadow-free places. In Europe, this species is therefore most in Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Bulgaria and Albania widespread. In addition to the southern European countries, the Ravenna grass is also indigenous to almost all Western Asian countries such as Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., but also in Pakistan and India. On the African continent, the area of ​​distribution lies in North African countries such as Algeria, Tunisia or even Somalia.

System

Synonyms are Andropogon ravennae L. ( basionym ), Erianthus elephantinus Hook. f, Erianthus purpurascens Andersson, Erianthus ravennae (L.) P.Beauv. , Ripidium elephantinum ( Hook. f ) Grassl, Ripidium ravennae (L.) Trin., Saccharum elephantinum ( Hook. f ) Naray .. Saccharum ravennae was in 1774 by Linnaeus in Syst. veg. , 13th edition, page 88, but he had this kind already under the name Andropogon ravennae 1763 in Species Plantarum, 2nd edition, 2, pp. published in 1481.

Swell

• WDClayton, KTHarman & H. Williamson: Grass Base - The Online World Grass Flora: Saccharum ravennae - Online.
• Shou- liang Chen & Sylvia M. Phillips: Saccharum in the Flora of China: Saccharum ravennae - Online.
• Thomas A. Cope: Poaceae in Flora of Pakistan: Saccharum ravennae - Online.