annual grass; thin, sandy soil; Illinois; among dried algal mats?

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by coelacanth, Sep 12, 2012.

  1. coelacanth

    coelacanth Active Member

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    Illinois
    Along railroad. Wet areas w/ Phragmites interspersed with seasonally ponded areas (mostly bare soil and dried algal mats) with this annual (?) grass, along with prairie threeawn.

    Also, see last photo: those are dried algae mats right? I don't know an appropriate forum to ask that question, but perhaps one of you knows. :)
     

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  2. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Panicum? And as for the algal mats ... a closer photograph of each mat?
     
  3. coelacanth

    coelacanth Active Member

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    Arg, I can't seem to find a match for that grass trying to key in out in Swink/Mohlenbrock. I get one then look at a photo on USDA or whatnot and they look completely different.

    Here are some larger photos of the floppy mat things.
     

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  4. Andrey Zharkikh

    Andrey Zharkikh Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Did you look at the spikelets the microscope? Some important details may escape from the naked eye. Try to part a spikelet into components. Sometimes an extra-glume or an extra-lemma may count as a reduced floret, an important feature in identification of grasses.

    And are you talking about one grass? As I can see in the pictures #2 and #4 these are two different grasses. However, both of them, just by overall look, may represent different species or even different genera and require additional details to make a call.
     

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