Phalaris aquatica information

[gerbil]

Auxin mentioned it so here's an attempt; it's definitely quite basic and whilst i've tried to put it into normal people terms with certain areas people will still more than likely have to look up and learn more about botanical knowledge/terminology.

There are photos floating around, but i'll try and get actual in the field melbourne pictures as time goes by, might take a while, but eventually. Also I may try and eventually get together some basic diagrams labelling things like glumes/spikelets/inflorescence/ligules etc. as words seem nicely supplemented with pictures.

This was basically compiled from learnings, the internet for some glossary terms but primarily the reference books/CD listed. So a lot of it is regurgitated but reworded and is a little bit scattered.

If any corrections please let me know.

Family - POACEAE

Genus - Phalaris

Species - aquatica

Status – Agricultural species / Environment Weed

Habit (The physical nature of the plant, physical structure and characteristic functionality of the plant in situ. i.e. medium sized tufted grass; Essentially Shape, Size, Form.)

This species is a Perennial tufted European grass (Lives more than 2 years, the stems will clumps towards the base giving the plant a sort of compact structure to it).

The roots are fibrous (thin and branching, mat like, great for soil holding) which penetrate the ground to around a foot depth, whilst spreading horizontally, but with age the root system can be extremely large.

The crown (thicker upper part of the root where stem shoots will arise) is generally heavily crowded with short rhizomes (underground adapted stems with capability to produce fibrous roots as well as shoots of stems and associated foliage).

Be aware if collecting the plant that any discarded rhizomes will more than likely produce seed, it’s very important if removing this species to make sure you don’t spread it, generally you should be primarily aware of the seed and the rhizome in relation to this issue.

The young shoots are said to be extravaginal, which means they are shoots arising from buds formed in the stem axil and break through the enclosing leaf sheath that surrounds it. I suppose it means within a whole sheath, the shoot will arise by creating a small slit from which the shoot will emerge, obviously the slit will increase in size over time, but primarily looking at the emerging young shoots towards the base may give a characteristic ID of this species.

The culms (stems) are relatively upright, between 50 and 150cm tall (including flowering head), they possess around 6 nodes but can vary and the nodes may be swollen or not swollen, generally they appear pale in colour. Spent culms (Flowers completed and died off) may remain on plant for a number of months as is often the case.

Habitat (Where it generally likes to occur)

This species is an agricultural introduction and is very common in and around areas of farming. A highly invasive species, it grows in areas which receive in excess of 450mm annual rainfall and can be found in many areas including grasslands, forests, woodlands, wetlands, riparian environments, roadsides, drainage lines, drainage ditches, areas of disturbed earth etc. It prefers quite fertile ground, yet will still perform in poorer soils. Seasonal inundation with high rainfall is beneficial, and as the plant nears 2-3 years old, it bulks up considerably and can withstand the dry harsh weather to an appreciable degree, however they do prefer the cooler and wetter months of the year, so in southern Australia, they can be found thriving particularly from Autumn through Spring, they can be seen flowering primarily around early spring, but it can vary. The clumping nature, especially as it bulks up is relatively easy to distinguish from most native grasses due to its thick robust nature which often forms thick stands which most definitely shade out and outcompete native plant species, particularly grasses, herbs and smaller ground flora.

However it’s extremely easy to confuse primarily with other European grasses.

Leaves

Around 20-40cm long and a width of about 2cm, it is a relatively flat blade with a prominent midrib often seen on the underside, both the top and undersides are generally the same colour, a bluish-green. The blade is said to be hairless. When young they can stand erect, but with age generally start to droop from the tip and eventually brown and die, the dead leaves stay on the plants for many months. The sheath (part of the leaf that is on the stem that wraps around) may enclose the stem, but often is does not.

The ligule (part found between the blade, sheath and stem) is membranous and up to about 1cm long. It’s said to be eciliate which means no hair around the margin. The ligule is entire (i.e. One piece, unbroken)

Inflorescence (Flowering structure possessing numerous 'flowers')

The inflorescence of this species can be easily confused with other species, yet if needed can be identified from closer inspection with a hand held loupe (10-15x) or better yet a microscope to analyse in field collected specimens.

Born on the tips of the 50-150cm culms (stems), the inflorescence ranges in size from 1.5cm – 15cm long, 1cm – 2.5 cm wide. Physically it looks quite compact and cylindrical, which often tapers to a slight point towards the tip, as the individual flowers and seed matures, the inflorescence head becomes more flared out than the compact cylinder, yet still keeps it’s structure to a degree. This can be confusing as many species look similar both in the cylinder and flared stage, yet should not discourage people from furthering the process of ID for themselves as other ID characteristics (i.e. whole plant consideration) come into play.

The inflorescence is a panicle arrangement, meaning that the inflorescence is a structure which posses many flowers, but each of these individual flowers are borne individually on a branched stem which initially branches of the central inflorescence stalk. So each large flower head you see is the main branch and is actually made up of lots of little ‘flowers’ which actually flower not on the main sort of shaft you see, but on little branches which have branched off this central shaft.

The whole inflorescence structure appears relatively oblong or ovate i.e. it’s kind of skinny and rounded, or slightly fatter but still rounded and creates a sort of plump cylinder.

Spikelets (A further structure of an inflorescence, possessing one or more flowers)

The spikelets are said to be solitary, meaning that even though there may be multiple spikelets on a branch of this panicle inflorescence, that each spikelet is an individual and has no specific connection to the spikelets nearby, they are essentially separate besides the fact they are on the same plant / inflorescence.

I am unsure how to interpret some information regarding this species however from my interpretation (WITHOUT having a specimen to compare to) each spikelet should contain 3 florets, 2 of which are sterile and 1 floret being fertile, the fertile floret should be the most obvious and most developed.

Glumes

A glume is the name of an appendage that semi encase a single or multiple florets (with each floret encasing being the lemma and palea). The presence of a glume with one or more florets creates what is known as the spikelet.

The glumes are persistent on this plant (remain after flowering/seed has been shed) they are similar in appearance but thinner than the Lemma on the fertile floret.

Lower glume is elliptical in shape, up to 7.5mm long and has 3 nerves present, it terminates in an acute point, but is relatively blunt.

Upper glume is elliptical in shape, up to 7.5mm long, in my interpretation of the reading, this upper glume is slightly over 1 and a half times the length of the lemma of fertile floret which the lemma is said to be adjacent to this upper glume.

Florets

As mentioned above, from my interpretation (but no in field comparison) each spikelet will possess around 3 florets, with 2 infertile (but can be more) and 1 fertile. The fertile floret is said to disarticulate (break free by the means of abscising from a joint) below the floret, so more than likely the glumes will remain attached even if florets have been fertilised and fertile seed has been shed.

The infertile florets are attached to the fertile floret, and given this attachment, upon the fertile floret detaching itself from the plant, the 2 sterile florets undergo detachment because of this.

A floret is essentially the word for an individual flower and is encased by 2 appendages known as the Lemma and Palea. The Lemma is the lower outer encasing and the Palea is the inner upper encasing, found encased within these are the reproductive organs, which of course contain specific ID characteristics but I don’t have any reliable information at hand, this information is probably only needed for intense scientific work possibly as the main ID can be found via most of the larger macroscopic and some various microscopic features over the entire plant.

The Lemma and Palea of the sterile florets are usually present, but can either be not formed at all, are reduced in size, or are generally a lot smaller than the fertile floret. They have specific characteristics which won’t be discussed here.

The lemma of the fertile floret is elliptical in shape up to 4.5 mm long, glossy with 5 nerves, they are tough and flexible and although appear glossy, can be softly hairy. Its apex is acute.

The palea of the fertile floret is tough and flexible, with only 2 nerves and a soft hairy surface. Generally 3 anthers (male pollen appendages) are present, the styles are fused and the ovary is free of hairs, possibly smooth and shiny.

Distribution and other

Phalaris aquatica is an introduced agricultural grass which has spread from its original desired position on the land, they seed heavily and thrive in disturbed environments, particularly moist areas such as near watercourses, drainage lines, roadside runoff points etc.

Found in WA, QLD, SA, TAS, ACT, NSW, Vic

Grasses that may be confused for Phalaris aquatica

These are just some possibilites and is by no means exhaustive.

Exotic Grasses in Australia

Anthoxanthum odoratum (Sweet Vernal Grass)

Holcus lanatus (YorkShire Fog Grass)

Holcus mollis (Creeping Fog)

Holcus setiger

Holcus setosus

Phalaris spp.

Phalaris angusta

Phalaris arundinaceae and it's varieties (Reed Canary Grass)

Phalaris canariensis (Canary Grass)

Phalaris coerulescens (Blue Canary Grass)

Phalaris minor (Lesser Canary Grass)

Phalaris paradoxa (Paradoxa / Paradoxical Canary Grass)

Setaria spp.

Setaria apiculata (Pigeon Grass)

Setaria italica (Italian Millet)

Setaria viridis (Green Pigeon Grass)

Native Australian Grasses

.............Know of any?.............

Generally you can kind of tell European and Australian grasses apart when in the field, European seem more broad leaf, moist and thrive in cooler areas and at cooler times (i.e. winter) whereas Australian grasses are generally more dainty, look drier, harsher and just generally seem to fit in with natural bush to the visual perception, they grow primarily during summer. I'm still very uneducated in the grass field, if there are any suggestions for confusing Australian species post them!

Other External Resources (* Note I haven't thoroughly looked through all documents, especially regarding Phalaris staggers so this is not supposed to be complete set information, simply a range of possible reading material, do not take this as truth as personally I am unsure of the validity, simply posting resources.)

Grass Structures - Definitions (Diagrams/photos), (full credit to Oregon State University)

http://forages.oregonstate.edu/projects/re...n.cfm?PageID=11

Go0gle Images of P. aquatica

http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&a...sa=N&tab=wi

DPI website - Staggers (Don't know the validity??) / Management / Cultivars

http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dpi/nreninf.nsf/...CF000BBD8D?open

Few Brief Pictures/Info on some Phalaris

http://members.iinet.net.au/~weeds/western...aceae_eight.htm

Breeding non-toxic Phalaris - Australian Society of Agronomy

http://www.regional.org.au/au/asa/1996/con...ted/450oram.htm

CSIRO - New light shed on Phalaris Toxicity

http://www.csiro.au/files/files/p83y.pdf

P. aquatica var. landmaster

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/inde...amp;hl=Phalaris

References (Besides links provided)

Clarke, I; Lee. H (2003) ‘Name that flower – The Identification of Flowering Plants second edition’, Melbourne University Publishing Ltd.

Muyt, A (2001) 'Bush Invaders of South-East Australia', RG & FJ Richardson Production

Sharp, D; Simon, B (2002) 'AusGrass - Grasses of Australia', CSIRO Publishing CD-ROM.’

Edited February 1, 2007 by gerbil

[occidentalis]

Very nice work sir.

[apothecary]

It seems the only posts in gerbil threads I make these days is 'thanks!'.

lol!

As usual gerbil, consistently coming through with the goods.

[gerbil]

Thanks guys, glad you like it

Just a little update - 'Other External Resources'

Thought I'd put a basic Grass Structure link up and a few brief images from google as I tend to get sidetracked with other projects so it may take a while to get field photos up, was going to redraw them but didn't see the point if the info is already everywhere on the net.

I suppose this'll probably go through lots of changes over time, so constantly under construction possibly.

[Ace]

Hello,

This might seem like an odd question, but it has been pointed out that this grass closely resembles many other european species. Does anyone have a list of Aussie lookalikes? This species appears to be one that I used to munch on a bit when I was knee-high to a grass hopper. Yes I was a wierd kid that thought that munching on a long piece of grass like a hillbilly was cool... Long story short, it never had any negative (or in this case, positive) effects that I remember... It appear to be quite common (though I havent really noticed it for a couple years - probably since I gave up that habit lol ) throughout the ACT, but I'm not 100% sure. Going off google pics, I'd say its the one, but I'd like to compare to lookalikes.

Is the extraction technique the same as that of morning glory/rivea? From the little bit I read on Erowid, it would appear so...?

Thanks for any help guys.

p.s. Awesome write up/collation Gerbil - it would be great to see something like this for all interesting species. Perhaps a good idea for an Info Archive?

Cheers

Ace

[obtuse]

Yeah. Well done Gerbil.

This is a fantastic writeup.

I second Ace's suggestion that perhaps an Information Archive would be good idea.

There is lots of info on the net and i find myself UTSF all the time, but i generally don't get quite the answers i want, or i get too much and get confused.

Thanks again Gerbil for making this info available.

cheers, Obtuse.

[Korky]

just another thanks from me gerb, great timing i might add, only recently looking into this grass.

seeing ive considered pooling great quality wads of info like the above to avoid scrolling the search engine each time i agree it would be usefull to discuss the suitability of an information archive?

nice work

[hebrew]

man as it has been sadi that is a great write up

thanks gerbil

good work

[gerbil]

Brief update on some links and 'similar species'.

Ace, I've stayed away from grasses and mainly focussed on Dicotyledons over the years, so my knowledge is still very low, but with my mycology interest and finding a few ergot like infections in the field over the last year it's sparking my interest a little bit more, so to get to the point, i'm unaware of confusing Australian grass species in relation to Phalaris, but that's mainly to do with my lack of experience. If people know of any please suggest it.

re: archive...'cause it'll be updated every now and then (and other plant sheets I want to produce) I suppose it's not really feasible to store in a locked archive as it can't be updated, maybe if reworked it may fit into the ethnowiki, but I tend to get a little confused as to what exactly should be put in and left out of a wiki. Maybe just a collation of links in a sticky to various threads will work. But then again these forums are essentially an info Archive, it's just a matter of people using appropriate descriptive wording and correct spelling to make the search function work properly I suppose.