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GRASSES OF THE COLUMBIA BASIN OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Heather Stewart, Richard Hebda Major Groups of Grasses Table of Contents Glossary Lolium Ryegrass The genus Lolium consists of Old World species, and in North America they are weedy species or escapees from cultivation. Lolium is the Latin word for ryegrass. Lolium multiflorum and Lolium perenne occur in the Columbia Basin region, and are used extensively in pasturage as well as seed mixtures for roadside restoration. A third weedy species, Lolium temulentum occurs in British Columbia but has not been collected in the Columbia Basin region. A quick field check to determine if the grass is Lolium is to look to see if there are two glumes. Lolium spikelets are oriented so that one edge of the spikelet is along the spike axis and along this edge there is no glume (you will need to remove the spikelet to check this). Lolium forms hybrids with Festuca and is closely related to that genus. Lolium Adapted from Douglas et al. 1994 1a. Lemmas awnless................................................................................................. Lolium perenne 1b. Lemmas awned..............................................................................................Lolium multiflorum   Lolium multiflorum Lam. Italian Ryegrass Plant: Lolium multiflorum is an introduced species that grows to 105+ cm tall. It is a biennial, tufted perennial with a flat, spikelike flowerhead. Leaves and Stem: The coarse-growing stout stems are rounded to slightly flattened in cross section. Sheaths are open. Leaf blades are 3-8 mm wide, 15-22 cm long, inrolled when young but become flat, and drooping from the point of attachment to the sheath. Ligules are short, often no more than a scruffy fringe of tissue. Clearly visible, curved auricles are present. Flowerhead and Flowers: In the single spikelike flowerhead the spikelets are attached edgewise directly to the stem (no stalklets). Flowerheads may reach 30 cm long. The 8-10-flowered spikelets are flattened. The two, narrow glumes are 1/3 to 1/2 as long as the spikelets. Some of the lemmas (especially the upper ones) may bear awns 2+ mm long. Habitat: Italian Ryegrass grows in disturbed sites, roadsides, fields and pastures and is used in seed mixtures as a quick cover crop. There is only one specimen in the collection at Royal BC Museum from the Columbia Basin region -- it is from Rock Creek. Similar Species: Italian Ryegrass closely resembles its near-relative Perennial Ryegrass, and the two form hybrids. Italian Ryegrass is a rougher- or coarser-looking plant, has awns, and its glumes are much shorter than the spikelet compared to Perennial Ryegrass. Some Lolium species appear similar to Agropyron species, but the spikelets of Lolium species are attached edgewise to the stem, whereas those of Agropyron species are attached flatwise. Lolium perenne L. Perennial Ryegrass Plant: Lolium perenne is an introduced species that grows to 30-80 cm tall. It is a tufted short-lived perennial with rhizomes and a spikelike flowerhead. Leaves and Stem: Smooth stems arising from numerous young leaves at the base. Stems below the flowerhead are flattened. Sheaths are open. Flat to folded, sometimes inrolled leaf blades are 2-4 mm wide, glossy and hairless. Tips of the leaves may be prowlike. Ligules are only about 1 mm high. Clearly visible auricles up to 1.5 mm long occur on most leaves. Flowerhead and Flowers: The flowerhead is stout, 7-25 cm long, spikelike and has spikelets alternating up the axis. Spikelets are attached edgewise directly to the stem (no stalklets). The 6-10-flowered spikelets are flattened. The narrow glume reaches about half the length of the spikelets. Lemmas are sharp pointed, but there are no awns. Habitat: Perennial Ryegrass grows on disturbed sites, pastures, fields, lawns, roadsides, even clearings. This species was introduced from Europe and is used in seed mixtures as a quick cover and pasture crop. There is only one specimen in the Royal BC Museum's collection from the Columbia Basin region, and it is from Emerald Lake. Similar Species: The most noticeable difference between Perennial Ryegrass and Italian Ryegrass is that Perennial Ryegrass has awnless lemmas.

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