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| Careful investigation when identifying grass anatomy. Photo by Lech Naumovich |
The attendees were a diverse group of veteran
restoration workers from throughout the East Bay, and many were quite
knowledgeable in the taxonomy of grasses, but wanted to know more about the
local species. Most of us, though, were
encountering the challenge of identifying grasses for the first time. But we all had the same goal – get to know
our grasses so we can do a better job in weeding out the bad and encouraging
the good!
We had the opportunity to observe species from a
variety of genera including Erhardta, Elymus, Festuca, Stipa, Bromus, Agrostis,
Melica and Avena. Lech arrived with a box full of grasses, which we used for
the first few activities. We were then
much more prepared when were given the task of identifying these same grasses
in the Evergreen Lane Restoration Site. All
activities were with partners, and the atmosphere was one of cooperation and
excitement at every “AHA, I get it!” moment.
The less experienced teamed up with the more skilled in the various
exercises throughout the morning, which was most helpful for those of us who
were less knowledgeable. Fortunately, one
of the most easily identifiable grasses, Erhardta Erecta, is also one of the most
invasive, and the one we all want to be able to identify with ease as we try to
control its range.
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| Photo by Lech Naumovich |
A couple of truly amazing take-aways for some of us -
we now look at grasses in a whole new way and can talk about them with a whole
new vocabulary. Rather than looking at
them as all he same we now see that they are highly varied with very different inflorescence
types, awns, ligules, collars, rooting behavior, and vestiture, spikelets,
and more!
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