Prepare to step into the world of grasses and sedges, a world that is perhaps easily overlooked. Yet surprisingly, did you know that grassland habitat covers up to 20% of the vegetation cover of our planet. Next time you are out and about, why not look down and explore the world below your feet. For the next 12 weeks, I will let you reed the clues and wander through the maize of possible answers.Enjoy!MYSTERY GRASS & SEDGE QUIZ #1Clue: Lying low in God's own country.
Congratulations to all of you who guessed Yorkshire fog grass (Holcus lanatus). Let’s start with the clues! First clue: Lying low in God's own country. Fog is a low-lying cloud formation. Hence lying low. Yorkshire, the UK’s largest county has often been nicknamed as God’s own country. That said, I’m sure the folk of Australia, New Zealand and the US might have something to say about that! The second clue: No actual slush. This is simply an anagram of the Latin name for Yorkshire fog, Holcus lanatus.
Common in grassland and open woodland, Yorkshire fog is a perennial grass that has a long, blunt and hairy ligules (a ligule is the part of the leaf found at the junction between the blade and the sheaf of the leaf. Yorkshire fog is also known as ‘tufted grass’ and ‘meadow soft grass’. Its leaves are velvety grey-green in colour. Yorkshire fog flowers between May to August and these purple tinged flowers provide food for such butterflies as the Speckled wood, the Wall and Small skipper.
A picture of Yorkshire fog grass is found here.
Did you know that: one Yorkshire fog panicle (group of flowers arranged on a stem) has 100 to 380 seeds!
Keep an eye out for next week’s Mystery Grass & Sedge quiz here soon!
Take care,
Claire
Your brilliance has been confirmed TJ & S!! Can you hear the singing?? Lol
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
WendyBartter said:Can you hear the singing?? Lol
LOL. Just as long it's not Whispering Grass.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Jennifer T said:Did you know that: one Yorkshire fog panicle (group of flowers arranged on a stem) has 100 to 380 seeds!
Knew there was a lot as we once collected a few buckets full for reseeding some rough meadows in Nidderdale, have had more exciting jobs lol
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
A real blast from the past TJ!!
You do lead a varied life S!
WendyBartter said:You do lead a varied life S!
Well maybe even at my age I have never grown up LOL
I hope I have just got envolved on this forum I am a dog person but we feed all the wild life on our local brook drive plenty of life to see the robins are the best they follow me up the drive to see just where I will drop their seed
That is not fair I am over 80 and have just had tears running down my face that robin is fantastic but they all are