Plant
Identification
ANSC 110
September 7, 2010
What Defines a “Good” Pasture Species?
 Palatable*
 Nutritious
 Dense growing
 Hearty (recovers well)
 Tolerant to climatic extremes
 Resistant to pests
Forage Classification
GRASSES
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Perennials
LEGUMES
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Perennials
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Cool Season
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Cool Season
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Warm Season
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Warm Season
Annuals
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Annuals
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Cool Season
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Cool Season
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Warm Season
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Warm Season
Plant Vocabulary
 Grass: monocots (one seed leaf)
 herbaceous plant
 parallel leaf veins
 fibrous root system
 bear seed on an elongated seed stalk
 Legume: dicots (two seed leaves)
 “netted” leaf veins
 usually have a taproot
 produce seed in a pod
 nitrogen fixation
Grass or Legume?
http://aggie-turf.tamu.edu/aggieturf2/grasswee/grasses/kblue.htm
http://forages.oregonstate.edu/media_library/alfalfa/screen/39.jpg
Plant Vocabulary
 Annual: A plant that germinates, grows,
reproduces, and dies in one growing season
 Perennial: A plant that has the ability to live
for more than one year
 Biennials – weak perennials that usually die
after the second growing season
Plant Vocabulary
 Warm Season Plants: plants that begin
growth and/or are planted in the spring or
early summer and do most of their growth
during the warmest part of the year
 Cool Season Plants: plants that begin
growth and/or are planted in the fall or early
spring and do most of their growth during the
coolest months of the year (except during
winter)
Grasses
 About 40 species commonly used for
pastures
 Monocots (monocotyledons)
 Identification:
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Parts of the plant
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Inflorescence
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Root system
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Color
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Growth habit
Grasses – Plant Parts
 Parts of the stem (culm)
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Node – solid joint of a
grass stem where leaf
sheaths are attached to
stem
Internode – region of the
stem between the nodes
Grasses – Plant Parts
 Parts of the leaf
 Blade – portion of leaf connected to the sheath
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Sheath – surrounds the stem above the node
where it is attached
Collar – region at the junction of the sheath
and blade
Ligule – appendage that clasps the stem
where the sheath and blade join
Auricle – outgrowths from the base of the
blade
Collar Region - Ligule
Fringed/Hairy
Photos © University of
California, IPM project
Truncated/Short
Absent
Membranous
Toothed
Rounded
Tapered
Collar Region - Auricles
Underdeveloped
Absent
Claw-like
Rounded
Photos © University of California, IPM project
Collar Region - Sheath
Closed
Overlapping
Split
Photos © University of
California, IPM project
Plant Characteristics
 Inflorescence (plant head, seed, flower/fruit)
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Panicle – many branches
Spike – unbranced axis
Raceme – spikelets on one branch
 Awns – appendage on ends of seeds
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Length, number
Types of
Inflorescences
Awns
Annual Ryegrass
AWNS
Perennial Ryegrass
NO AWNS
Plant Characteristics - Roots
 Root System
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Rhizomes
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Stolons
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Fibrous
Root System
Fibrous - Rhizomes
Fibrous - Stolons
Photos © University of
California, IPM project
Fibrous - Bunchgrass
Taproot
Plant Characteristics - Color
Orchardgrass
Bermudagrass
http://forages.oregonstate.edu/
Plant Characteristics - Leaf growth
Folded
Rolled
Common
Characteristics of
Some Pasture Species
GRASSES
Timothy
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Phleum pratense
Cool season perennial
Medium height
Haplocorm in mature plants
Leaf blades are rolled
 Gently ribbed upper,
smooth under
Seedhead = compact panicle
No auricles
Pointed or rounded ligule
Round sheath
Timothy
Seedheads of timothy grass
Orchardgrass
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Dactylis glomerata
Cool season perennial
Tall-growing, bunch grass
No rhizomes or stolons
Folded leaf blades
Sheath flattened
No auricles
Membranous ligule
Seedhead - clustered
spikelet; seeds are slightly
curved
Orchardgrass
Seedheads
Folded Leaf Blades
Kentucky Bluegrass
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Poa pratensis
Cool season perennial
Short - medium height, sodforming (rhizomes)
Folded leaves
 Boat-shaped tips
 Green/Dark green in
color
No auricles
Collar sometimes hairy
Membranous ligule
Seedhead - open pyramidal
panicle
Kentucky Bluegrass…
Tall Fescue
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Collar of tall fescue
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Festuca arundinacea
Cool season perennial
Bunchgrass (short rhizomes)
Coarse, tough roots
Ribbed leaves (serrated edges)
Auricles blunt with fine hairs
Short membranous ligule
Seedhead = branched panicle
with elliptical spikelets
Seeds have a short awn
Tall fescue…
Reed Canarygrass
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Phalaris arundinacea
Leaves rolled
No auricles
Collar may be divided
Large membranous toothed
ligule, sometimes hairy on
back
Wide leaf blade, smooth
Seedhead - densely
flowered, spreading to
narrow panicle
Reed Canarygrass
Crabgrass
Digitaria sanguinalis
 Warm season annual
 Reaches 2-4 ft. in height
 Creeping grass, long runners
 Wide leaves hairy at base
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Rolled leaves
 Stiff ligule
 Seedhead - 4-6 spikes at
top of stems
(Winter) Wheat
Triticum aestivum
 Cool season annual
 Rolled leaves
 Round, smooth split sheath
 Broad collar
 Small hairy auricles
 Membranous ligule
 Long rounded blades
 Seedhead - Crowded thick
spike, long awns
Wheat…
Smooth Bromegrass
Bromus inermis
 Cool season perennial
 Sod-forming (deep-rooted
rhizomes)
 Blades narrow
 No auricles
 Ligule – membranous,
truncate to rounded
 Round sheath
 Seedhead - Open panicle; 5
to 11 florets per spikelet
'W'-shaped constriction at
approximately the midpoint
of the leaf blade.
Smooth Bromegrass
Annual Ryegrass
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Lolium multiflorum
Cool season annual
Bunch grass
High palatability and
digestibility
Rolled leaves, prominently
ridged on upper surface;
smooth glossy and hairless on
under surface
Claws on auricle
Membranous ligule sometimes
with hairs
Seedhead - solitary spike with
alternately arranged spikelets;
seeds have awns
Annual Ryegrass
Perennial Ryegrass
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Lolium perenne L.
Cool season perennial
Good for erosion prevention
Quick to establish
Undersurface of leaves is
shiny dark green
 leaves are folded
Inflorescence stems are
nearly naked
Seedhead - spikes with
spikelets growing edgewise
to seedhead stem; No awns
Perennial Ryegrass
Bermudagrass
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Cynodon dactylon
Warm season perennial
Good for erosion control (sodforming)
May become invasive
Spreads by rhizomes, stolons
and seed
Stems are short-jointed
Leaves are flat and spreading
Leaves may be hairy or smooth
Seedhead = two rows of
spikelets on finger-like spikes
White collar region with sparse,
relatively long hairs
Bermudagrass
Common
Characteristics of
Some Pasture Species
LEGUMES
Legumes
 Dicot plants
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Two seed-bearing leaves
 Legume roots host Rhizobium bacteria
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Often have taproots
 Trifoliate leaves
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Shape of leaflets
Texture (hairy, shiny, etc.)
Legume – Plant Parts
 Petiole – the stalk by which a leaf is attached
to the stem (leafstalk)
 Stipules – a pair of leaf-like outgrowths /
appendages that occur at the base of the
petiole
 Stolons – shoot that bends to the ground or
that grows horizontally above ground
Legume
Plant
Parts
Inflorescence –
Legumes/
Weeds
Alfalfa
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Medicago sativa
Cool-season perennial
15-25 inches tall
Pinnately trifoliate leaves
arranged alternately on the
stem
 Leaves are toothed
towards the tips
Slender stipules fused to the
petiole
Flowers - generally pinkpurple, but may be white or
yellow
Alfalfa…
Ladino Clover
Trifolium repens
 Giant form of white clover
 Cool season perennial
 Spread by stolons
 8-12 inches tall
 Tri-foliate leaves, shiny
underneath, often marked
with v-shaped pattern
 Flower - White ball-shape
Ladino Clover…
Red Clover
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Trifolium pratense
Cool season perennial
Hairy leaves and stems
Erect – grows 2-3 feet
tall
Large leaves, prominent
v-shaped water mark
Flower - pinkish-violet in
dense clusters
Red Clover…
Birdsfoot Trefoil
Crown Vetch
Crimson Clover
Sericea Lespedeza
USEFUL WEBSITES
 http://www.caf.wvu.edu/~forage/Tutorial/forindx.htm
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West Virginia University – NRCS Forage Identification Slide Set
 http://plants.nrcs.usda.gov/cgi_bin/topics.cgi?earl=characteristics.html
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USDA Plants Fact Sheets Database
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Click on Fact Sheets and Plant Guides on left column
 http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/forages/index.html
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Purdue Forage Information (great photos!)
 http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/agr/agr175/agr175.htm
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Forage Identification and Use Guide (Univ. of Kentucky)