Gramineae
Danthonia drakensbergensis Schweick.
Drakensberg wire grass
Arundinoideae; Danthonieae. There are 17 species of Merxmuellera, all of which are endemic to southern Africa.
Endemic to southern Africa and occurs in stream banks, seepage areas and on rocky outcrops in high mountain grassland
A perennial tufted grass that grows to a height of 1,000 mm. Leaf blades are up to 300 mm long and 1.3 mm wide and are tough, wiry and rolled. Old leaves break off close to the sheath mouth and the remaining leaf bases split along the midrib and the two halves curl away from one another. The ligule is a fringe of hairs. Inflorescence is a panicle of 80-180 mm long that is loosely contracted. The spikelets have 5-8 flowers, the glumes are 13-17 mm long, 1-3 nerved. The backs of the lemmas have three tufts of equally spaced white hairs on either side of the central nerve. The central awn is 9-12 mm long and geniculate at the point where it is attached to the lemma lobe.
This species is considered to be unpalatable due to the hard wiry leaves that make it unacceptable to grazers.
Chromosome base number, x = 6.
C3 photosynthetic pathway. Biochemical type XyMS+.
None reported and considered to be non-toxic.
M. drakensbergensis occurs in high altitude areas where the climate is cool to cold and where frost and snow occur regularly in winter. It occurs on stream margins and in seepage areas and is an important species for stabilising the soil in these areas. Species that may occur alongside M. drakensbergensis include Festuca costata, F. scabra, Miscanthus capensis and Andropogon appendiculatus.
It grows in areas where the soil is deeper than in surrounding areas, usually associated with waterlogging, seepage areas and along the margins of streams.
M. drakensbergensis is not propagated.
A summer-growing species that flowers anytime from October to March.
None known.
It grows relatively slowly due to the cold climate in which it grows.
Gibbs-Russell, G.E., Watson, L., Koekemoer, M., Smook, L. Barker, N.P., Anderson, H.M., Dallwitz, M.J. 1989. Grasses of southern Africa. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa, No. 58, National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Van Wyk, E. & Van Oudtshoorn, F. 1999. Guide to grasses of southern Africa. Briza Publications, Arcadia, South Africa.