---

Return

RATTLESNAKE MANNAGRASS

NOMENCLATURE

Other Names: rattlesnake manna grass

 Scientific Name: Glyceria canadensis Michx.

 Plant Family: Graminae

GENERAL INFORMATION

Botanical Description: grass

 Stems: thick, simple, smooth, 2-3 feet tall, erect; grow singly or in tufts of few

 Leaves: blades 0.5 - 1 foot long, up to 0.33 inches wide

 Roots:

Flowers: thick green flowers in small clusters on long widely branched, drooping panicle stems, bloom June - August

 Seeds: roundish, brown, small and nutlike, clustered on long linear, drooping panicles that may appear like rattlesnake tail

Seedling:

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

Not often considered a serious problem in established cranberry beds.

LIFE CYCLE

Reproduction: perennial

 Propagation: seed, underground rootstocks

 Dispersal: wind, water, and contaminant in vine cuttings or sand

DISTRIBUTION

State: Common throughout Wisconsin.

National: Found in many places east of the Mississippi River northward to the Canadian border and southward to Kentucky and North Carolina.

 Origin:

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

Common in patches in cranberry beds.

SCOUTING PROCEDURE/ET

Easily recognized by its drooping panicles and thick stems. While scouting a cranberry bed for disease and insect pests, identify weed populations as they arise. Note the specie(s) of weed present as well as the population level relative to field area. Example: 10% rattlesnake grass, 20% boneset and joe-pye weed mix.

REFERENCES

Dana, M. 1987. Cranberry Weeds in Wisconsin. Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 17.

 

Gleason, H. A. 1952. Illustrated Flora of the United States and Adjacent Canada. Vol . 1. Lancaster Press, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. p. 115.

Kummer, L. D., T. G. Dittl, and T. D. Planer. 1993. Wisconsin Cranberry Weeds. Wisconsin Cranberry Board, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. p. 26.

Return