BIOL 461 Name: ______Systematics & Assignment

Answer the following identification "riddles" based on the species introduced in the course. Write the common name on the line provided and scientific names (, species) underneath. (1 point each)

______01. Attractive native species in with a curving with several florets per spikelet and long, curving awns.

______02. Diminutive introduced annual that has 3 spikelets per node, but only the center one is fertile. The entire breaks up late season.

______03. Short-statured native hermaphroditic perennial with curly and an unusual one-sided inflorescence; favors dry prairies.

______04. Non-native polyploid with very long awns. This taxon is an important grain crop, and able to hybridize with many members of its tribe.

______05. Native perennial in the tribe that forms dense stands in wet areas of our region; leaves have sharp margins and may cut your skin!

______06. A widespread native bunchgrass that has three-awned lemmas and is often red when young. Sharp-tipped florets and abrasive awns make this species unappealing to both livestock and wildlife.

______07. Weedy non-native perennial with rhizomes, closed sheath, and a panicle of “fish scale-like” spikelets; this species is very common along roadsides and in across our region.

______08. Native grass with dorsal compression and hairy sheaths/leaves that behaves like a weed—inflorescences break off and become tumbleweeds.

______09. Rhizomatous grass with very tall robust stems, fuzzy inflorescences, and a wide geographic distribution (including 2x, 4x, 6x, 8x populations). European varieties of this species are aggressive weeds in North America.

______10. Introduced perennial with bulblets forming in the inflorescence as well as small bulbs at the plant base, enabling asexual propagation.

Total: _____ / 10 1 Cont'd, answer plant identification "riddles" based on species introduced in the course.

______11. A native annual, this low-growing relative of Setaria is found in sandy areas and has prickly reproductive parts that stick to fur and socks.

______12. Short and drought tolerant grass with 30-50 short spikes that are characteristically clustered to one side of the stem. Native species that persists in dry prairies of western South Dakota.

______13. Short grass with a characteristic dense, flattened and comb-like inflorescence. This is a common invasive in dry prairie that greens-up early in the season, and thus is sometimes desirable as livestock .

______14. Dioecious and awnless grass that exhibits strong lateral compression, extensive rhizomatous growth, and tough leaves; this is a widespread species that favors saline and alkaline soils.

______15. Tall, monoecious crop species with C4 photosynthesis that was domesticated from wild ancestors in Mexico >9,000 years ago.

______16. Native grass that grows in tufts and resides in open, sandy places; it has diffuse panicles with one floret per spikelet and hairy lemmas.

______17. Non-native grass with closed sheaths and panicle inflorescence with clustered spikelets, giving it a clumpy appearance. This self-incompatible taxon is comprised of diploid and tetraploid populations.

______18. Tall-statured native perennial comprised of hexaploid and octoploid in our region. A keystone grass of tallgrass prairies, this species has a rame inflorescence with a characteristic "turkey-foot" appearance.

______19. Drought-resistant grass in the subfamily that was domesticated at least three times in and is now a crop grown as a grain, sweetener, and biofuel; sometimes cultivated in South Dakota.

______20. Annual, introduced grass that has a distinctive panicles of spikelet branches. This species favors damp, nutrient-rich locations; if you see this on or near a dirt road, beware—you may get stuck!

______21. Early-flowering grass that remains green all year long; it occurs as clumps in pine forests of western South Dakota.

Total: _____ / 11

2 Cont'd, answer plant identification "riddles" based on species introduced in the course.

______22. This introduced grass has flattened culms and tan sheaths; it can be recognized from a distance by its alternating green/tan color on the stem.

______23. Common native prairie species that is fuzzy and often reddish; the sessile spikelet is awned and the other unawned and staminate or sterile. The entire inflorescence breaks up on this species.

______24. Member of the with a fertile sessile spikelet and missing pedicellate spikelet. Although native to western South Dakota, it is more common in tallgrass prairies to the east.

______25. Tall non-native grass with extremely fuzzy inflorescence that in our region is most often found cultivated in gardens or landscaping. In other regions can be an invasive that forms monocultures.

______26. Grain crop that originated in Europe; now grown in temperate areas for human and livestock food. Generally not hairy, and may be awned or unawned—if awns present they are not bent or twisted.

______27. Native perennial with a conspicuously hairy rachilla and callus; this species is generally found near water and is known to exhibit apomixis.

______28. Stoloniferous native perennial that is dioecious, very low-growing, and has curly leaves. This species favors very dry soils and is intolerant of shade; sometimes planted as a native grass.

______29. Annual non-native grass that is extremely weedy; it dries in late summer and increases wildfire risks. This species has closed sheaths, notched lemmas, and strong lateral compression.

______30. Native perennial with a characteristic stout awn; spikelets look like The Batman’s head. Widespread in the northern Great Plains (including w. South Dakota) and sometimes forming cleiostogamous flowers.

______Bonus. Native monecious perennial that grows in the margins of rivers and lakes and is sometimes harvested as a grain. It occurs in eastern South Dakota but is much more common in Minnesota.

Total: _____ / 10 3 Answer the following identification "riddles" for grass subfamilies introduced in class. (1 point each)

______31. Primitive grass subfamily comprised of rhizomatous perennials in tropical America. Members of this subfamily have pseudopetioles, missing glumes, four stamens, and large fruits.

______32. This pantropical subfamily disarticulates above the glumes and contains only one tribe—and only one genus occurs in North America.

______33. Most common in tropical and warm temperate regions, this group includes economically important crops such as and sugar cane. Both C3 and C4 photosynthesis occur in this group.

______34. Subfamily of the BOP clade that is comprised of perennials with pseudopetioles and variable anther numbers; has a wide geographic distribution. Includes two tribes, one of which is “woody.”

______35. Monoecious perennials from tropical America that have glumes.

______36. Subfamily of rhizomatous perennials from tropical Africa that have pseudopetioles and glumes; contains 2 genera.

______37. Characterized by C3 photosynthesis and allied with Bambusoideae and . is a member of this subfamily.

______38. Characterized by C3 photosynthesis and found in the PACMAD clade. This subfamily includes some extremely tall members.

______39. Subfamily with C3 photosynthesis that is found primarily in the southern hemisphere; one stoutly-awned resident of western South Dakota that was introduced in lecture is a member of this subfamily.

______40. This subfamily with primarily C4 photosynthesis is most common in dry, temperate . The tribe Zoysieae is found in this group.

______Bonus. Large group of cool season, C3 grasses that are very dominant in western South Dakota (and many parts of the northern hemisphere). Member of the BOP clade.

Total: _____ / 10

4 Identify the grasses shown with line art from the list of 28 species below (some species may not be used). (1 point each)

Acnatherum hymenoides (Indian Ricegrass) Panicum capillare (Witchgrass)

Agrostis gigantea (Redtop) (Switchgrass)

Alopecurus aequalis (Shortawn Foxtail) smithii (Western Wheatgrass)

Bromus inermis (Smooth Brome) Phleum pratense (Timothy)

Bromus japonicus (Japanese Brome) Poa pratensis (Bluegrass)

Dichanthelium oligosanthes (Few-flowered Panic Grass) Pseudoroegneria spicata (Bluebunch Wheatgrass)

Elymus canadensis (Canada Wildrye) Puccinellia distans (Alkaligrass)

Elymus repens (Quackgrass) Schizachne purpurascens (False Medic)

Glyceria sp. (Mannagrass) cereale ()

Hordeum jubatum (Foxtail ) Setaria pumila (Yellow Foxtail)

Leersia oryzoides (Rice Cutgrass) Setaria verticellata (Bristly Foxtail)

Leymus innovatus (Fuzzyspike Wildrye) cryptandrus (Sand Dropseed)

Lolium perenne (Perennial Ryegrass) intermedium (Intermediate Wheatgrass)

Muhlenbergia racemosa (Marsh Muhly) Triticum aestivum ()

Total: _____ / 3 5 Cont'd, identify the grasses shown from the list of 28 species above (some species may not be used).

Total: _____ / 4

6 Cont'd, identify the grasses shown from the list of 28 species above (some species may not be used).

Total: _____ / 4 7 Cont'd, identify the grasses shown from the list of 28 species above (some species may not be used).

Total: _____ / 4

8 Cont'd, identify the grasses shown from the list of 28 species above (some species may not be used).

Total: _____ / 4 9 Based on the grass species introduced in class, what are good indicators of the habitats and ecological situations described in the space below? Please provide common and scientific names.

41. List two native species that are indicators of alkali soils.

42. List six native species that are indicators of wetland habitats.

43. List four non-native species that are common in horse/cattle pastures.

44. List three native species that occur frequently in the understory of pine forest.

45. List four native and two non-native species that occur frequently in very dry prairies.

46. List three species that are indicators of very sandy soils (including dune habitats).

Total: _____ / 12

10