Lygeum
| albardine esparto grass | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lygeum spartum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Pooideae |
| Tribe: | Lygeeae J. Presl (1846) |
| Genus: | Lygeum Loefl. ex L. |
| Species: | L. spartum |
| Binomial name | |
| Lygeum spartum Loefl. ex L. | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
MHNT
Lygeum is a genus of Mediterranean plants in the grass family.[4][5] It is placed in its own tribe Lygeeae, which is sister to Nardeae.[6]
The only known species is Lygeum spartum, commonly called esparto grass or cord grass[1][7] or albardine, which is distributed in arid areas around the Mediterranean Sea.[8] It is similar to Stipa tenacissima[9] and both species are used to produce a fiber product known as esparto or esparto grass.[10]
Description
Lygeum spartum is a rhizomatous hermaphroditic, perennial grass growing up to 75 centimeters tall.[11] The rhizome and the base of the stem are scaly.[12] The leaves are threadlike but stiff[11] and tough, measuring up to 50 centimeters long.[12] The inflorescence is made up of a few long-haired spikelets each up to 4.5 centimeters long. They are wrapped in a lance-shaped bract called a spatheole.[11] This sheath is 3 to 9 centimeters long and can have a sharp point.[12]
Distribution
Lygeum spartinum is native to southern Europe and North Africa, where its distribution includes Crete, Italy, Spain, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia.[8][13] It may have been introduced to Kashmir.[14]
Habitat
Rocky sea shores, or on dry sandy or clay and often calcareous soil.[15]
Uses
Lygeum spartum fibres have high tensile strength and flexibility, and has is used for making ropes, sandals, baskets, mats and other durable articles. They have also used in the manufacture of high quality paper.[16] It ca also be used locally as a fodder for livestock and to stabilise sand dunes and rehabilitate salt soils, due to its tolerance of saline conditions.[17]
References
- 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ↑ Palisot de Beauvois, Ambroise Marie François Joseph. 1812. Essai d'une Nouvelle Agrostographie 140
- ↑ Tropicos, Spartum P. Beauv.
- ↑ Linnaeus, Carl von. 1754. Genera Plantarum, ed. 5 27, (522).
- ↑ Abdeddaim-Boughanmi, K. and M. Kaid-Harche. (2009). Structure, ultrastructure of the anther, pollen microsporogenesis and morphology of pollen grains of two populations of Lygeum spartum L. in Algeria. American Journal of Agricultural and Biological Sciences 4(3), 201-05.
- ↑ Soreng, Robert J.; Peterson, Paul M.; Romschenko, Konstantin; Davidse, Gerrit; Zuloaga, Fernando O.; Judziewicz, Emmet J.; Filgueiras, Tarciso S.; Davis, Jerrold I.; Morrone, Osvaldo (2015). "A worldwide phylogenetic classification of the Poaceae (Gramineae)". Journal of Systematics and Evolution. 53 (2): 117–137. doi:10.1111/jse.12150. ISSN 1674-4918.
- ↑ Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Lygeum, Sparto steppico, Esparto Grass
- 1 2 Lygeum spartum. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).
- ↑ Garcı́a-Fuentes, A., et al. (2001). Review of communities of Lygeum spartum L. in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula (western Mediterranean). Journal of Arid Environments 48(3), 323-39.
- ↑ Watson, L. and M. J. Dallwitz. 1992 onwards. Lygeum. The Grass Genera of the World. DELTA – DEscription Language for TAxonomy. Version: 18 December 2012.
- 1 2 3 Clayton, W. D., et al. (2006 onwards). Lygeum. GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora.
- 1 2 3 Lygeum spartum. Flora of Pakistan.
- ↑ Lygeum spartum. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
- ↑ . Encyclopedia of Life title = Lygeum spartum http://eol.org/pages/1115570/overview title = Lygeum spartum Check
|url=value (help). Retrieved 2016-11-26. Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Lygeum spartum - Loefl. ex L.". Plants For A Future. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
- ↑ "Esparto". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
- ↑ Bouzid Nedjimi (2009). "Salt tolerance strategies of Lygeum spartum L.: A new fodder crop for Algerian saline steppes". Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants. 204 (10): 747–754.