Tussock (grass)
Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are found as native plants in natural ecosystems, as forage in pastures, and as ornamental grasses in gardens.[1][2][3] Flint Tussock and bunch grasses, in the Poaceae family, are grasses that usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennial plants usually, they live more than one season
Many species have long roots that may reach 2-metre (6.6 ft) or more into the soil, which can aid slope stabilization, erosion control, and soil porosity for precipitation absorption. Also, their roots can reach moisture more deeply than other grasses and annual plants during seasonal or climatic droughts. The plants provide habitat and food for insects (including Lepidoptera), birds, small animals and larger herbivores, and support beneficial soil mycorrhiza. The leaves supply material, such as for basket weaving, for indigenous peoples and contemporary artists.
Tussock and bunch grasses occur in almost any habitat where other grasses are found, including: grasslands, savannas and prairies, wetlands and estuaries, riparian zones, shrublands and scrublands, woodlands and forests, montane and alpine zones, tundra and dunes, and deserts.
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[edit] Fire resistance
In western North American wildfires, bunch grasses tend to smolder and not ignite into flames, unlike invasive species of annual grasses that contribute to a fire's spreading.[citation needed]
[edit] Genera
- Some Genera examples:
- Brachypodium
- Calamagrostis
- Chionochloa - (endemic to New Zealand)
- Deschampsia
- Festuca
- Heteropogon - (tropical climates)
- Leymus
- Melica
- Muhlenbergia
- Nassella
- Stipa
[edit] Species
[edit] Australia
[edit] New Zealand
- 'Red Tussock — (Chionochloa rubra)
- other N.Z. 'Tussock Grass':
- Chionochloa australis
- C. flavescens
- Festuca novaezelandiae
- Poa caespitosa
- P. colensoi
- P. foliosa
[edit] North America
- Bunch Grasses:[4]
- Purple three-awn — (Aristida purpurea)
- Blue grama — (Bouteloua gracilis)
- Leafy reedgrass — (Calamagrostis foliosa) - (endemic to California)
- Pacific reedgrass — (Calamagrostis nutkaensis)
- Purple Reedgrass — (Calamagrostis purpurascens)
- Hare's-tail Cottongrass — (Eriophorum vaginatum)
- California fescue — (Festuca californica)
- Idaho fescue — (Festuca idahoensis)
- Red fescue — (Festuca rubra)
- Junegrass — (Koeleria macrantha)
- Giant wildrye — (Leymus condensatus)
- California melic — (Melica californica)
- Deer grass — (Muhlenbergia rigens)
- Purple needlegrass — (Nassella pulchra) - (The state grass of California)
- Pine bluegrass — (Poa secunda)
- Salt Couch Grass — (Sporobolus virginicus)
[edit] South America
- Tufted Hair-grass — (Deschampsia cespitosa) - (up through North America)
- Serrated tussock — (Nassella trichotoma) - (common pasture weed in Australia)
- Tussac grass — (Poa flabellata)
- (synonyms: Parodiochloa flabellata, Festuca flabellata, Dactylis caespitosa)
[edit] Africa
- Perennial tussock grass — (Heteropogon contortus) - (to Asia, Australasia, Oceania)
[edit] Europe
- Rope grass — (Ampelodesmos mauritanicus)
- Purple Moor Grass — (Molinia caerulea) - (to west Asia and north Africa)
[edit] See also
[edit] Non-Poaceae tussocks
- Tussock Sedge (Carex stricta)
- Fibrous Tussock-sedge (Carex appropinquata)
- Rough Saw-sedge (tussock) (Gahnia aspera)
[edit] References
- ^ R.H. Groves, R.D.B. Whalley "Grass and Grassland Ecology in Australia" in Flora of Australia Volume 43 Poaceae 1: Introduction and Atlas, CSIRO Publishing, Canberra. "Tussock" grass implies a vertical orientation of the grass clump. In North American usage “Bunch grass is more specific and defines a clumping, non-rhizomatous or non-stoloniferous growth form, vertical to splayed, and usually perennial with a deeper rooting system than other Poacea.
- ^ Crampton, Beecher. "Grasses in California. University of California Press. Berkeley. 1974. ISBN 0-520-02507-5. p. 7 Walker, T.W. 1955 "The Ecology of Tussock Grasslands: Discussion" Proc. NZ Ecol. Soc 3:7 "One fifth of New Zealand carries tussock or bunch grass vegetation, more than other steppes, prairies, or grasslands of the world"
- ^ Walker, T.W. 1955 "The Ecology of Tussock Grasslands: Discussion" Proc. NZ Ecol. Soc 3:7 "One fifth of New Zealand carries tussock or bunch grass vegetation, more than other steppes, prairies, or grasslands of the world"
- ^ California Native Grasslands Association; access date: 6/9/2010
[edit] External links
- California Native Grasslands Association: Bunchgrass species & habitats: preservation & restoration.
