''Danthonia intermedia'' is a species of

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

known by the common names timber oatgrass, intermediate oatgrass, and mountain wild-oat grass. This clumping erect perennial grass is native to North America, where it is widespread across most of Canada and along the western United States into

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It is a plant of the plains as well as forested, mountainous, alpine environments. The

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...

reaches about half a meter in height at maximum. Its leaves are short and mostly basal. Each

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a narrow cluster of up to about ten

spikelets A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the inflorescences of grasses, sedges and some other monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the spikelet ...

, each spikelet holding 3 to 6 florets. The flowers are

cleistogamous Cleistogamy is a type of automatic self-pollination of certain plants that can propagate by using non-opening, self-pollinating flowers. Especially well known in peanuts, peas, and pansies, this behavior is most widespread in the grass family. H ...

, meaning they remain closed and pollinate themselves. This grass also sometimes undergoes

apomixis In botany, apomixis is asexual development of seed or embryo without fertilization. However, other definitions include replacement of the seed by a plantlet or replacement of the flower by bulbils. Apomictically produced offspring are geneti ...

, reproduction without fertilization. This independence of the need for pollination between individuals is one reason why this grass is so widespread and able to tolerate a variety of climates. This is a desirable grass for grazing land because it begins growing earlier in the spring than most other grasses, and it tolerates heavy grazing better than some other grasses because of its basal

meristem In cell biology, the meristem is a structure composed of specialized tissue found in plants, consisting of stem cells, known as meristematic cells, which are undifferentiated cells capable of continuous cellular division. These meristematic c ...

, that is, new growth occurs low on the grass instead of on the tip where it can be chewed off. This grass is an indicator of ecological climax in many ecosystems.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileGrass Manual Treatment

intermedia Intermedia is an art theory term coined in the mid-1960s by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the strategies of interdisciplinarity that occur within artworks existing between artistic genres. It was also used by John Brockman to refer to ...

Bunchgrasses of North America Native grasses of California Grasses of the United States Grasses of Canada Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Poaceae-stub