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Turfgrass Anatomy
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- 2. Turfgrass Anatomy A knowledgeable person should be able to recognize key features of grasses to aid in their. These turfgrass features are: 1.Leaf blade 2. Leaf sheath 3. Leaf collar 4. Auricles 5. Ligules 6. Stolons 7. Rhizomes 8. Tillers 9. Stem apex
- 3. Turfgrass Leaves • The leaf is photosynthetic tissue which is borne on a stem and consists of a flattened upper blade and a lower basal sheath that encircles the stem. •the leaf is responsible for the vast majority of photosynthesis and respiration in the plant. • Most leaf blades are long, parallel veined, and non‐petioled.
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- 5. Turfgrass Leaf Features Identification Features: 1. Blade tips •Boat shaped • Acuminate • Acute • Needle‐like 2. Blade surface • Hairy • Smooth 3. Veins • Prominent (rugose) • Smooth 4. Color • Yellow green • Light green • Green • Dark green. boat-shaped Acuminate acute needle-like Leaf Tips
- 6. Leaf Sheath • The leaf sheath is simply an extension of the leaf • Shaped like a hollow cylinder that is split down one side and encloses the stem. •Think of is as a buttoned or un‐buttoned coat that you are wearing. • Identification features: 1. split 2. overlapped 3. closed Split Overlapped Closed
- 7. Auricles Auricles are two finger‐like appendages which develop on the margin of the leaf just at the sheath and the blade junction They may help to hold the leaf tight to the stem. • Identification features: •claw‐like • rounded • absent claw-like rounded absent
- 8. Collar The collar is a band of tissue which separates the leaf from the leaf sheath. • This band is meristematic •develops new leaf tissue to allow for blade elongation. • Identification features: 1. Shape • Broad‐banded • Narrow‐banded • Divided 2. Pubescence: • Hairy • Smooth 3. Color • Lighter than the leaf • Same color.
- 9. Collar (cont) • How does the collar grow new leaf tissue? • Assume you just mowed the leaf at the right just at the top of the picture. •The collar lays down new layers of cells right above the pale green area and extends the blade upward. • So, when mowing, you are always cutting off the older part of the leaf blade.
- 10. Ligules Ligules are curtain‐like appendages located on the inner side of the leaf at the junction of the sheath and the leaf blade. They may work like eyelashes in keeping dirt away from the stem and leaf base. In terms of location, think of it as the label at the back of your neck on a shirt you are wearing. • Identification features: •Membranous • Truncated • Fringe of hairs • Absent membranous truncated fringe of hairs absent
- 11. Stolons Stolons are secondary lateral shoots with considerable aboveground horizontal stem elongation. Develop new shoots and roots at their nodes. Typical stoloniferous grasses are: •Bermuda • Kikuyu • St. Augustine • Bent • Zoysia Stolons allow for rapid recovery of damaged turf areas
- 12. Rhizomes Rhizomes are secondary lateral shoots that develops horizontally underground and which emerge as a new shoot and root at the terminal end Typical rhizomatous grasses: •Bermuda • Kikuyu • Kentucky blue Rhizomes aid in repairing and thickening turfgrasses
- 13. Tillers Tillers are lateral shoots that develop from buds created by the stem apex These buds grow into new, upright shoots that thicken a turfgrass. Grasses which only “spread” by tillers are • Ryegrasses •Tall fescue • Some types of annual bluegrass. These are often called “bunch” grasses. Grasses which only “tiller” are slow to recover from injury.
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