Leersia virginica
Common names: whitegrass [1]
| Leersia virginica | |
|---|---|
| File:Leersia virginica IWF.jpg | |
| Photo by the Illinois Wildflowers Database | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants |
| Class: | Liliopsida - Moncots |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Leersia |
| Species: | L. virginica |
| Binomial name | |
| Leersia virginica Willd. | |
| |
| Natural range of Leersia virginica from USDA NRCS Plants Database. | |
Contents
Taxonomic Notes
Synonym: L. virginica var. ovata (Poiret)
Variety: Homolocenchrus virginicus (Willdenow)
Description
L. virginica is a perennial graminoid of the Poaceae family native to North America. [1]
Distribution
L. virginica is found throughout the Eastern and Midwestern United States, Ontario, and Quebec. [1]
Ecology
Habitat
L. virginica can be found in floodplain forests, swamps, and streambanks. [2] Specimens have been collected in habitats such as shaded wet soils, drying sandy loam, shaded woods, mesic hardwood regions, floodplain bluffs, wet banks of rivers, and hammocks. [3] L. virginica is commonly found in an ideal habitat of partially shaded wet lowlands. It prefers moist soil with a high amount of organic matter that is commonly found along water bodies. It is not tolerant to droughts. [1]
Phenology
Flowers typically bloom between July and October. [1]
Seed dispersal
This species is thought to be dispersed by gravity. [4] Seeds are typically dispersed in the summer through to the fall. [1]
Seed bank and germination
Seeds have bene classified as having medium vigor.[1]
Fire ecology
L. virginica is not fire resistant. [1]
Use by animals
L. virginica can be used by grazing and browsing animals though it is not commonly found in the pasture areas that they inhabit. The Northern Pearly Eye butterfly caterpillar will feed on the foliage of the plant.[1]
Conservation and Management
Cultivation and restoration
Photo Gallery
References and notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 USDA Plant Database
- ↑ Weakley, A. S. (2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Herbarium.
- ↑ URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2018. Collectors: Loran Anderson, G. Nelson, W. Baker, R.K.Godfrey, R. Kral, Neal Morar, Lisa Keppner, Annie Schmidt, William Platt, M. Darst, H. Light, D. Johnson, L. Peed. States and counties: Florida (Wakulla, Thomas, Calhoun, Levy, Jefferson, Liberty, Clay, Franklin, Leon, Liberty, Jefferson, Escambia, Suwannee, Washington, Holmes, Dixie) Georgia (Thomas)
- ↑ Kirkman, L. Katherine. Unpublished database of seed dispersal mode of plants found in Coastal Plain longleaf pine-grasslands of the Jones Ecological Research Center, Georgia.
