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Trisetum flavescens (L.) Beauv. |
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Graminae Avena flavescens L. |
Author: Alain Peeters |
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Yellow oatgrass (English), Avoine jaunâtre or avoine dorée (French), Goldhafer (German). Perennial plant, medium size, hairy (a few exceptions), cespitous, with short rhizomes. Stems erect, 20 - 80 cm high, not very leafy. Blade rolled when young, rather wide (2 – 4 mm), with visible veins, more hairy on the upper side than on the lower side, can be hairless on the lower side. Some forms have no hairs on the blade. Sheath of the lower leaves often very hairy. Ligule short (up to 2 mm), dentate. No auricles. Panicle-like inflorescence, spreading, 6 - 15 cm long, yellowish-green to yellowish at seed maturity. Spikelets 2 - 4 - flowered. Lemma with long awn. The weight of 1000 seeds is 0.2 to 0.3 g (small seeds). Chromosome number: 2n = 28. Large climate range but favoured by warm micro-climates. Optimum on normally drained to dry soils but large range. Species dominating in irrigated hay meadows in mountain areas. Avoids very wet soils. Optimum on soils moderately supplied in nutrients (mesotrophic species). Large range of pH, more abundant on slightly acid to alcaline soils. Rather indifferent to soil texture. Native to Europe, West Asia and North Africa. From the lowlands to alpine levels in mountain areas but much more abundant in the mountain and subalpine levels than anywhere else. Rare in the lowlands. |