. California grasslands and range forage grasses. Grasses; Forage plants. Donthonio intermedia Donthonia colifornica Donthonio unispicata Donthonio californieo. Fig. 65. Distribution of oatgrasses (Danthonia spp.). creased elevation. Seeds are large and need trampling into the ground to assure good germination. Key to Species Spikelet usually solitary or with 1 or 2 reduced spikelets borne below it 4. D. unispicata Spikelets few to several in an open or narrow panicle Awns of teeth and dorsal awn of lemma much longer than the body of the floret 5. D. pilosa Awns of teeth and dorsal awn of lemm
. California grasslands and range forage grasses. Grasses; Forage plants. Donthonio intermedia Donthonia colifornica Donthonio unispicata Donthonio californieo. Fig. 65. Distribution of oatgrasses (Danthonia spp.). creased elevation. Seeds are large and need trampling into the ground to assure good germination. Key to Species Spikelet usually solitary or with 1 or 2 reduced spikelets borne below it 4. D. unispicata Spikelets few to several in an open or narrow panicle Awns of teeth and dorsal awn of lemma much longer than the body of the floret 5. D. pilosa Awns of teeth and dorsal awn of lemma shorter than the body of the floret Panicle narrow, the pedicels oppressed; spikelets mostly 4-6 1. D. intermedia Panicle open, the pedicels spreading or reflexed, spikelets 2-4 Foliage glabrous; culms lVfc-3% ft (45- 100 cm) tall 2. D. californica Foliage pilose; culms mostly shorter; spikelets usually smaller 3. D. californica var. americana 1. TIMBER OATGRASS (Danthonia inter- media) is a densely tufted perennial, mostly 6-20 in (15-50 cm) tall with a dense mass of short basal leafage; pani- cles narrow, 1-2 in (2-5 cm) long, the purple spikelets 12-15 mm long, on short pedicels, crowded. (Fig. 66.) Distribution and habitat: Timber oat- grass is confined to the summer ranges in the Sierra Nevada in California. It occurs mostly in open, moist parks and meadows, but at lower altitudes it may grow in the shade of coniferous timber and more sparingly in the oakbrush cover. Forage value and reproduction: The succulent basal leafage of timber oat- grass is well liked by livestock, but the plant is not abundant enough in Cali- fornia to be of outstanding forage value. It withstands heavy grazing, due prob- ably to its production of large self-ferti- lized spikelets (cleistogenes) which are hidden at the lower stem joints. These basal cleistogamous spikelets enable stands to reproduce even though grazing retards the development of flower stalks, where normally the seed is produced
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, booksubjectforageplants, booksubjectgrasses
