Nardus
{{Short description|Genus of grasses}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Matgrass
| image = Nardus stricta mountain medow.JPG
| display_parents = 5
| grandparent_authority = W. D. J. Koch
| genus = Nardus
| parent_authority = L.
| species = stricta
| authority = L.
| synonyms_ref = [http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/synonomy.do?name_id=425433 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families][http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40025241 Tropicos, Nardus L.]
| synonyms =
- Natschia Bubani
- Natschia stricta (L.) Bubani
- Nardus glabriculmis Sakalo
- Nardus stricta var. glabriculmis (Sakalo) Tzvelev
}}
Nardus is a genus of plants belonging to the grass family, containing the single species Nardus stricta, known as matgrass.{{BSBI 2007 |accessdate=2014-10-17 }} It is placed in its own tribe Nardeae within the subfamily Pooideae. The name derives from ancient Greek {{lang|el|nardos}} ({{lang|el|νάρδος}}) from the earlier Akkadian lardu. It is not to be confused with spikenard, Nardostachys jatamansi.
Distribution and ecology
Nardus stricta is native to Eurasia (from Iceland and the Azores to Mongolia), North Africa (Algeria, Morocco), and northeastern North America (Greenland, eastern Canada, and the northeastern United States).{{cite web |url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=Nardus |publisher=The Plant List |title=Nardus |accessdate=30 January 2016}}
Nardus stricta occurs on heath, moorland, hills, and mountains on nutrient poor acidic sandy to peaty soils and is strongly calcifuge, avoiding calcareous soils. It can occur from low elevations to over {{convert|1000|m}}, becoming a community-dominant in late snow patches on mountains. Nardus stricta may also become a dominant species in habitats grazed by cattle or sheep because it is tough and unpalatable.{{cite journal|author1=Brynmor Thomas |author2=C. B. Fairbairn |year=1956 |title=The white bent (Nardus stricta): its composition, digestibility and probable nutritive value
|journal=Grass and Forage Science |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=230–234 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2494.1956.tb00079.x|bibcode=1956GForS..11..230T }}{{cite journal |author=D. Welch |year=1986 |title=Studies in the grazing of heather moorland in north-east Scotland. V. Trends in Nardus stricta and other unpalatable graminoids |journal=Journal of Applied Ecology |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=1047–1058 |doi=10.2307/2403954 |jstor=2403954|bibcode=1986JApEc..23.1047W }}
It flowers from June until August. Apomixis is found to be common in this plant, with extensive colonies often proving to be a single clone.
Description
Culms are erect and {{convert|25|–|60|cm|sigfig=1}} long, with grey-green leaf-blades filiform and involute, ranging from {{convert|4|–|30|cm|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long by {{convert|0.5|–|1|mm|sigfig=1}} wide, i.e. bristle like. The ligules of basal leaves are {{convert|0.4|-|0.8|mm|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and blunt, while those of culm leaves are longer, up to {{convert|2|mm|sigfig=1|abbr=on}}, and more pointed.{{cite book |author1=Tom Cope |author2=Alan Gray |year=2009 |title=Grasses of the British Isles |series=BSBI Handbook |volume=13 |publisher=Botanical Society of the British Isles |location=London, UK |page=53 |isbn=978-0-901158-42-0}}
The roots and shoots are very closely packed together at the base of the plant producing a white, tough, highly reflective feature. The spikelets are very slender and loosely overlapping in two rows each side of the spikelet axis. Each lemma is tipped with a short awn.{{cite book |author=C. E. Hubbard |author-link=Charles Edward Hubbard |year=1984 |title=Grasses: a Guide to their Structure, Identification, Uses and Distribution in the British Isles |edition=3rd |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-013227-4 |page=343}}
References
{{Reflist|32em}}
External links
- {{Wikispecies-inline|Nardus|Nardus}}
- {{Commons category-inline|Nardus}}
- [http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch?keywordquery=Nardus&mode=Scientific%20Name&sort=1 USDA Plants Database]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090507010502/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?7983 Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN)]
- [http://data.gbif.org/species/13231775 Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)]
- [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358072#page/64/mode/1up Original description by Carl Linnaeus] in Species Plantarum (1753)
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q9174561|from2=Q159574|from3=Q4895519}}