Wildflower of the Month
River oats look like fish on a
stringer
By Dr. Lynda Richards
The
other day a fellow who lives near the
Meramec River
asked me if I knew about “quaking grass.”
“You mean that grass that looks like ‘fish on a
stringer?’,” I asked. “Yes!
That’s the one!” he said.
River oats, quaking grass, Indian wood-oats, or
fish-on-a-stringer: all
these common names are good descriptions of a familiar and attractive
Ozarks bottomland plant. The
scientific name is Chasmanthium latifolium. Usually
you find it growing near rivers and streams, often in the kinds of
places where
Virginia
bluebells were blooming in April. River
oats is generally less than a yard tall, and can grow in big patches.
Good thing, too—otherwise our river valleys would be just about
nothing but nettles, poison ivy, and multiflora rose in late summer.
Do
grasses have flowers? Sure
enough! Grasses are
flowering plants. But the
grasses have evolved to get along without insect pollinators, so they
don’t have to make showy, colorful, scented flowers to attract
insects. Instead, the
inconspicuous grass flowers produce huge amounts of tiny light-weight
pollen grains that are caught up and dispersed by the wind.
River oats flowers are green and pretty when they first emerge
from the stalks in June and July. And
after they shed their pollen and the seeds ripen, they turn a warm
coppery color. Many folks
like to gather the stems with their pretty seed heads for fall bouquets.
Grasses
are the staff of life for human beings all across the world.
Wheat and rice in the Old World and corn in the
Americas
have fueled our civilizations for thousands of years.
The grasses (plant family Poaceae) are one of the most numerous
and successful kinds of plants, playing important roles in ecosystems
throughout the world. Grasses
are responsible for making the rich organic soils of the tall-grass
prairie, which once covered the upper Midwest, and is now the
bread-basket of the
USA
. Not only food, but now
ethanol, too, comes from grasses like corn, cane, and switch grass.
The down side of all this is that the light, air-borne pollen of
grasses is a major contributor to hay fever and asthma.
River
oats makes a good shade-tolerant perennial plant in a garden.
One of my friends planted a patch years ago on the shady side of
her house and it comes back every year.
The seed heads hang on most of winter, providing interest and
color, until icy blasts break them apart and disperse the seeds.
Dr.
Lynda Richards, retired Mark Twain National Forest ecologist, is a
Phelps
County
Master Gardener.
Dr.
Lynda Richards, retired Mark Twain National Forest ecologist and a
Phelps County Master Gardener, leads Wildflower Walks for the
Ozarks
River
Audubon chapter.
Native
plant notebook:
January: Red Cedar--We love it and we hate it
February:
Harbinger of Spring might bloom this month
March:
Take a close look at Spring Beauties
April:
A sea of celestial (Virginia) Blue(bells) in the Ozarks
May:
Missouri Primrose shows great, big showy blooms
June:
Black-eyed Susans are beautifuly, easy to grow
July: Non-native
chicory adds beauty to Ozarks
August:
Tickseed Sunflower brightens roadsides, gets in your socks
September:
Tall Bellflower is worth seeking out
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