Difference between revisions of "Tridens carolinianus"

From Coastal Plain Plants Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
(Photo Gallery)
(Seed dispersal)
Line 35: Line 35:
  
 
===Seed dispersal===
 
===Seed dispersal===
 +
According to Kay Kirkman, a plant ecologist, this species disperses by gravity. <ref name="KK"> Kay Kirkman, unpublished data, 2015. </ref>
 +
 
===Seed bank and germination===
 
===Seed bank and germination===
 
===Fire ecology=== <!--Fire tolerance, fire dependence, adaptive fire responses-->
 
===Fire ecology=== <!--Fire tolerance, fire dependence, adaptive fire responses-->

Revision as of 07:52, 14 April 2016

Tridens carolinianus
Trid caro.jpg
Photo by Steve Dickman, Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Order: Cyperales
Family: Poaceae ⁄ Gramineae
Genus: Tridens
Species: T. carolinianus
Binomial name
Tridens carolinianus
(Steud.) Henr.
TRID CARO dist.jpg
Natural range of Tridens carolinianus from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: Carolina fluffgrass

Taxonomic notes

Description

"Erect rhizomatous perennials. Spikelets compressed, glumes similar, shorter than lowest lemma. Lemmas 3-nerved, nerves ciliate, reduced upward, chartaceous; paleas equaling lemmas. Articulation below florets." - Radford et al 1964

"Perennial from elongate, scaly rhizomes, 2.5-5 mm thick; culms 8-12 dm tall, nodes and internodes glabrous. Leaves cauline, to 3.5 dm log, 2-7 mm wide; upper blades glabrous on both surfaces, lower blades sparsely pilose on both surfaces basally, margins smooth scaberulous; upper sheaths glabrous, lower, pilose; ligules ciliolate, 0.5 mm long. Panicle 9-15 cm long, 1-4 cm broad; branches ascending, glabrous. Spikelets 4-5 flowered, 7-9 mm long, 2-3 mm broad. Glumes 1-nerved, chartaceous, glabrous, retuse, cuspidate; 1st glume 3.5-4.5 mm long, 2nd glume 4-5 mm long; lemmas retuse, cuspidate, longest 4-5 mm long. Grain yellowish, ellipsoid, 2-2.5 mm long." - Radford et al 1964

Distribution

Ecology

Habitat

In the Coastal Plain in Florida and Georgia, T. carolinianus has been found in open longleaf pine forests; loamy sand of open pinewoods sandhill; annually burned pinelands; longleaf pine-live oak forests; sandy loam of longleaf pine-deciduous scrub oak forests; mesic longleaf pine-oak-persimmon community; and open, mesic pine flatwoods (FSU Herbarium). It has also been found in disturbed habitats such as pastures and old fields. Associated species include Quercus margarettae, Q. incana, Q. falcata, Liatris gracilis, Liatris tenuifolius, Ceanothus americanus, Aristida beyrichiana, Pityopsis graminifolia var. tenuifolia, Schizachyrium tenerum, Eriogonum tomentosum, Licania michauxii, and Ctenium (FSU Herbarium).

Phenology

It flowers and fruits August through November (FSU Herbarium).

Seed dispersal

According to Kay Kirkman, a plant ecologist, this species disperses by gravity. [1]

Seed bank and germination

Fire ecology

Pollination

Use by animals

Diseases and parasites

Conservation and Management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: July 2015. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, Wilson Baker, Robert K. Godfrey, Roy Komarek, Angus Gholson, J. M. Kane, R. Kral, John B. Nelson, B. A. Sorrie. States and Counties: Florida: Gulf, Jackson, Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton, Washington. Georgia: Baker, Grady, Thomas. Compiled by Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.

Radford, Albert E., Harry E. Ahles, and C. Ritchie Bell. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. 1964, 1968. The University of North Carolina Press. 63. Print.

  1. Kay Kirkman, unpublished data, 2015.