Coleanthus

{{Short description|Genus of grasses}} {{Speciesbox |image = Coleanthus subtilis Thome Mod.jpg |image_caption = ''Coleanthus subtilis''<ref name="Thome">Illustration from Otto Wilhelm Thomé: ''Flora von Deutschland Österreich und der Schweiz''. Gera-Untermhaus, 1885</ref> |display_parents = 5 |genus = Coleanthus |parent_authority = [[Wenzel Benno Seidl|Seidl]]<ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/719702#page/19/mode/1up Seidl, Wenzel Benno. 1817. Systema Vegetabilium 2: 11-12, 276] in Latin</ref><ref>[http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40011924 Tropicos, ''Coleanthus'' Seidl]</ref> |species = subtilis |authority = ([[Leopold Trattinnick|Tratt.]]) [[Wenzel Benno Seidl|Seidl]] ex [[Roem.]] & [[Schult.]] |synonyms_ref = <ref name=s/> |synonyms = * ''Schmidtia'' Tratt. 1816, rejected homonym not Moench 1802 ([[Asteraceae]]) nor Steud. ex J.A. Schmidt 1852 ([[Poaceae]]) * ''Wilibalda'' Sternb. ex Roth * ''Schmidtia subtilis'' Tratt. * ''Zizania subtilis'' (Tratt.) Raspail * ''Wilibalda subtilis'' (Tratt.) Roth * ''Schmidtia utriculata'' J.Presl & C.Presl * ''Schmidtia utriculosa'' Sternb. }}

'''''Coleanthus''''' is a [[genus]] of Eurasian and North American plants in the [[Poaceae|grass family]]. The only known species is '''''Coleanthus subtilis'''''. It has a scattered distribution, found on lakeshores, streambanks, and other wet places in central Europe (France, Germany, Czech Republic; extinct in Norway and Italy), Asia ([[Western Siberian economic region|Western Siberia]], [[Khabarovsk]], eastern China), and northwestern North America ([[Oregon]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[British Columbia]]).<ref name=s>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=405667 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref><ref>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200025083 Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 340 <big>莎禾</big> suo he ''Coleanthus subtilis'' (Trattinnick) Seidel in Roemer & Schultes, Syst. Veg. 2: 276. 1817. ]</ref><ref>[http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-db/www/gen00147.htm Grassbase - The World Online Grass Flora]</ref><ref>Kharkevich, S.S., Probatova, N.S. & Novikov, V.S. (1985). Sosudistye rasteniia sovetskogo Dal’nego Vostoka 1: 1-383. Izd-vo "Nauka," Leningradskoe otd-nie, Leningrad</ref><ref>Malyschev, L.I. & Peschkova, G.A. (eds.) (2001). Flora of Siberia 2: 1-362. Scientific Publishers, Inc., Enfield, Plymouth</ref><ref>[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Coleanthus%20subtilis.png Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map]</ref>

== Description == ''Coleanthus subtilis'' is a small-growing, clump-forming [[Annual plant|annual]] grass that often grows on the ground. The [[Culm (botany)|culms]] are thin, prostrate, or ascending, have two to three nodes, and a little groove. They grow to a length of 30 to 80 mm. The leaf sheaths are glabrous and closed in the lower half, especially the uppermost leaf sheath, which is strongly inflated. The ligules form a membranous fringe and scale between 0.5 and 0.8 mm. The glabrous [[leaf blade]]s measure 10 to 20 mm in length and 1 to 2 mm in width. They are weakly grooved, folded, and often shaped like a sickle.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last1=Monika Kriechbaum |last2=Marcus Koch |title=Coleanthus subtilis (Poaceae) – wiederentdeckt. In: Neilreichia. Band 1, 2001 |url=https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/NEIL_1_0051-0056.pdf |pages=51–56}}</ref> [[File:Coleanthus_subtilis_Thome_Ährchen_Mod.jpg|thumb|Spikelets<ref>{{Cite book |title=Illustration from Otto Wilhelm Thomé: Flora of Germany Austria and Switzerland |publisher=Gera-Untermhaus, 1885.}}</ref>]] A [[panicle]] can vary in size from 10 to 30 mm. It is composed of several more or less dense groups of spikes arranged in tufts. The [[spikelet]]s are uniflorous and grow 0.8 to 1.2 mm long. They stay on the panicle even after the ripening stage. The [[glume]]s are missing. The tender-skinned lemmas are single-nerved and grow 0.8 to 1.2 mm in length. The remaining nerves are hairless, except for the median nerve, which is short and protruding hairy. They have an oval lower portion, an extended top portion, and a narrowly rounded or awn-pointed at the upper end. The two-nerved, glabrous, and tender-skinned bracteoles reach 0.4 to 0.6 mm long. They have wide, depressed sides and are four-pointed at the top. The two nerves each run out in a short tip. It develops into a pair of [[stamen]]s. The filaments are attached to the base of the [[anthers]], which have a length of approximately 0.3 mm. The [[Stigma (botany)|stigmas]] of the [[Ovary (botany)|ovaries]] are filiform and protrude from the flowers at the upper end. The [[fruit]]s lengthen from 0.6 to 0.8 mm. They are wrinkly, stick out between the top and the front husk, and fall off without external action.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Hans Joachim Conert |title=Pareys Gräserbuch. Die Gräser Deutschlands erkennen und bestimmen. Parey, Berlin 2000 |year=2000 |isbn=3-8263-3327-6 |pages=186|publisher=Parey }}</ref>

''Coleanthus subtilis'' typically blossoms from June through September, with very few occurrences in early May or late November. It is [[Ploidy|diploid]], with a [[chromosome]] number of 2n = 14.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Slavomil Hejný |title=Coleanthus subtilis (Tratt.) Seidl in der Tschechoslowakei: Folia Geobotanica et Phytotaxonomica. Band 4, Nr. 4, 1969 |pages=345–399}}</ref>

== Distribution == The distribution area of ''Coleanthus subtilis'' extends over several small, highly disjunct sub-areas:

* Northwest France ([[Brittany]]) * Central Europe: the species is primarily found in the Czech Republic, with formerly about 140 localities, and extend to Austria<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Manfred A. Fischer |title=Exkursionsflora für Österreich, Liechtenstein und Südtirol. 3 |last2=Karl Oswald |last3=Wolfgang Adler |year= 2008|publisher=verbesserte Auflage. Land Oberösterreich, Biologiezentrum der Oberösterreichischen Landesmuseen, Linz 2008 |isbn=978-3-85474-187-9}}</ref> (only at some ponds in the [[Waldviertel]], threatened with extinction), Slovakia,<ref name=":2" /> and Poland (near [[Wrocław]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jerzy Fabiszewski |last2=Jan Cebrat |title=Coleanthus subtilis (Tratt.) Seidel [sic!] – a new species to the Polish vascular flora. In: Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. Band 72, Nr. 2, 2003 |journal=Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae |date=2003 |volume=72 |issue=2 |url=https://pbsociety.org.pl/journals/index.php/asbp/article/view/asbp.2003.018 |pages=135–138|doi=10.5586/asbp.2003.018 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In Germany, it is extinct in the [[Westerwald]] ([[Rhineland-Palatinate]]) and near [[Mannheim]] ([[Baden-Württemberg|Baden-Wüttemberg]]),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Birgit Fleischer |title=Coleanthus subtilis (Tratt.) Seidl – ein Neufund für die Oberlausitz. In: Sächsische Floristische Mitteilungen. Band 7, 2002 |pages=14–19}}</ref> but it has lately been found in [[Saxony]] in [[Freiberg]], [[Upper Lusatia]], and [[Saxony-Anhalt]] near [[Wittenberg]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Siegfried Woike |title=Beitrag zum Vorkommen von Coleanthus subtilis (Tratt.) Seidl (Feines Scheidenblütgras) in Europa: Folia Geobotanica et Phytotaxonomica. Band 4, Nr. 4, 1969 |pages=401–413}}</ref> * [[South Tyrol]], extinct<ref name=":3" /> (at two lakes near [[Bolzano]] and at [[Lake Dobbiaco]]) * Norway, last in1842: near [[Oslo]]<ref name=":4" /> * The area south of [[Lake Ladoga]] near [[Saint Petersburg]]<ref name=":4" /> * West- [[Siberia]] * on the middle and lower Amur (China) * in North America, ''Coleanthus subtilis'' has been found in six areas in southern [[British Columbia]] ([[Canada]]) and on the [[Columbia River]] in [[Washington (state)|Washington]] and [[Oregon]] (USA). It was discovered in 2007 in Canada's Northwest Territories, about 1700 km from the closest site. Due to its late American discovery (1880), it was considered that it had been brought over from Europe. However, several factors suggest that the species is also native to North America, including its very specialized habitat requirements, and rarity, which may have led to the late discovery of the species in America, and the absence of circumstantial evidence that it was actually introduced from Europe.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Paul M. Catling |title=Coleanthus subtilis (Poaceae), New to Northwest Territories, and its Status in North America: Rhodora. Band 111, Nr. 945, 2009 |pages=109–119}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kriechbaum |title=Coleanthus subtilis (Poaceae) – wiederentdeckt |last2=Koch |pages=52–53}}</ref>

''Coleanthus subtilis'' is listed in Annex II and IV of the [[Habitats Directive]] and is thus classified as a priority species. Due to its endangered status, it is given particular protection in Germany under the Federal Species Protection Ordinance.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=FloraWeb - Gefährdung & Schutz |url=https://www.floraweb.de/xsql/gefaerdung.xsql?sipnr=1614& |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=www.floraweb.de}}</ref>

== Ecology and sociology == ''Coleanthus subtilis'' is a [[Raunkiær plant life-form|therophyte]] with a six to seven-week life cycle.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kriechbaum |title=Coleanthus subtilis (Poaceae) – wiederentdeckt |last2=Koch |pages=53}}</ref> Generally, it grows in short-lived, patchy dwarf rush colonies that occupy 60–80% of the available space.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Karl-Georg Bernhardt |last2=Elisabeth Ulbel |last3=Marcus Koch |last4=Josef Webhofer |title=Erhalt des Scheidengrases in Österreich. Überleben gefährdeter Pflanzenarten im Teichboden am Beispiel Coleanthus subtilis. In: Naturschutz und Landschaftsplanung. Zeitschrift für angewandte Ökologie. März 2005 |url=https://www.nul-online.de/artikel.dll/nul03-05scheidegras_MTIwMzgx.PDF |pages=88–92}}</ref> It occurs in widely scattered locations, often in the mud of drained ponds, stream and river banks, and old-water margins. The plant is extremely rare and unstable. It vanishes as soon as the ground floods again. Under ideal conditions, it possesses a lifespan of two to four years.<ref name=":1" /> According to earlier research, the seeds can survive in flooded soil for up to 20 years without losing their ability to germinate.<ref name=":2" />

It is spread by rivers at relatively short distances ([[hydrochory]]) and by waterfowl and swamp birds ([[zoochory]]). As a result, seed dissemination by wild ducks can account for the significantly disparate distributions in [[Bohemian Massif]], [[Saint Petersburg]], and [[Siberia]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kriechbaum |title=Coleanthus subtilis (Poaceae) – wiederentdeckt |last2=Koch |pages=54}}</ref>

In the Cypero-Limoselletum from the Nanocyperion association, ''Coleanthus subtilis'' is the most prevalent.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Erich Oberdorfer |title=Pflanzensoziologische Exkursionsflora für Deutschland und angrenzende Gebiete. Unter Mitarbeit von Angelika Schwabe und Theo Müller. 8 |year=2001 |publisher=stark überarbeitete und ergänzte Auflage. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001 |isbn=3-8001-3131-5 |pages=259}}</ref>

== Systematics, name, and botanical history == ''Coleanthus subtilis'' was discovered in 1811 by brothers [[Jan Svatopluk Presl|Jan Svatopluk]] and [[Carl Borivoj Presl]] near [[Osek (Rokycany District)|Osek]] and it was first named in 1816 by [[Leopold Trattinnick]] under the name ([[basionym]]) ''Schmidtia subtilis''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leopold Trattinnick |title=Flora des österreichischen Kaiserthumes. Erster Band, Anton Strauß, Wien 1816 |year=1816 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V6lNAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA171 |page=12}}</ref> The plant was classified to the genus ''Coleanthus'' by [[Wenzel Benno Seidl]] in 1817 (in Roemer & Schultes: ''[[Systema Vegetabilium|Systema vegetabilium]])''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Johann Jacob Römer |last2=Joseph August Schultes |title=Systema vegetabilium. 16. Auflage. Band 2, J. G. Cotta, Stuttgart, 1817 |date=1817 |volume=v.2 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/719965#page/284/mode/1up |page=276}}</ref><ref name=":6" />

The Greek words ''koleós'', which means [[Scabbard|sword sheath]], and ''ánthos'', which means flower or blossom, are combined to form the name ''Coleanthus''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Helmut Genaust |title=Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen. 3 |year=2005 |publisher=vollständig überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. Nikol, Hamburg 2005 |isbn=3-937872-16-7 |page=167}}</ref> The species [[epithet]] subtilis (Latin for fine, thin, delicate) refers to the thread-thin stems. The genus name translates directly to the German name Scheidenblütgras. The less precise translation of the species name, "sheath grass," emphasizes one of its most distinctive characteristics: expanded leaf sheaths.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kriechbaum |title=Coleanthus subtilis (Poaceae) – wiederentdeckt |last2=Koch |page=51}}</ref>

In the [[genus]] ''Coleanthus,'' ''Coleanthus subtilis'' is the sole species.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shou-liang Chen |last2=Sylvia M. Phillips |title=Coleanthus Seidel (sic!) in Roemer & Schultes: Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (Hrsg.): Flora of China. Volume 22: Poaceae |year=2006 |url=http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/PDF/PDF22/Coleanthus.pdf |publisher=Science Press / Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing / St. Louis 2006 |page=340 |isbn=1-930723-50-4}}</ref> The genus belongs to the Poeae [[Tribe (biology)|tribus]] in the [[Pooideae]] subfamily.<ref name=":6" /> Due to its significant distinctions from other grasses (lack of glumes, erectile tissue, two stamens, and elongated style), some authors place them in their own tribe Coleantheae.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kriechbaum |title=Coleanthus subtilis (Poaceae) – wiederentdeckt |last2=Koch |page=52}}</ref> Mistakenly, the genus ''Coleanthus'' is often assigned six other species that were actually counted in the genus ''Coleosanthus'' of the [[daisy family]]. These species are now classified as belonging to the genus [[Brickellia]].<ref name=":5" />

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * ''Coleanthus subtilis:'' [[International Union for Conservation of Nature|IUCN]] [[Red List of Threatened Species]] 2021.3 . Submitted by: Maiz-Tome, L., 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2023 * [http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-db/www/imp02508.htm Description at ''GrassBase''] * [https://plants.usda.gov/ Description in ''USDA Natural Resources Conservation'' Service] *{{Commons category-inline}} *{{Wikispecies-inline}}

[[Category:Pooideae]] [[Category:Grasses of Asia]] [[Category:Grasses of Europe]] [[Category:Grasses of North America]] [[Category:Monotypic Poaceae genera]]