Agrostis magellanica facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Agrostis magellanica |
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| Scientific classification | |
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Agrostis
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| Species: |
magellanica
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Agrostis magellanica is a type of plant known as a grass. It grows in many places around the Southern Ocean, especially on islands that are very cold but not quite the South Pole. These cold places are called subantarctic islands. This grass is found all around the bottom of the world, which is known as a circumpolar distribution.
What is Agrostis magellanica like?
Agrostis magellanica is a perennial grass, meaning it lives for more than two years. It grows in clumps, like a small bush of grass. This grass can be anywhere from 50 to 450 millimeters tall. That's about 2 to 18 inches. It often forms short grassland areas.
The main stems of the grass, called culms, have purple spots or joints. Its leaves are thin and tough, almost like wire. The grass also has flower clusters, called panicles. These panicles are 20 to 120 millimeters long (about 1 to 5 inches). They have many shiny, greenish-purple parts called spikelets. Each spikelet has a distinct bristle-like part called an awn.
Where does Agrostis magellanica grow?
This special grass is found in several cold parts of the world. In New Zealand, you can find it in the southwest of the South Island. It also grows on the Antipodes, Auckland, and Campbell Islands.
Beyond New Zealand, Agrostis magellanica is native to Macquarie Island. It also lives on the Falkland, Kerguelen, Crozet, and Prince Edward Islands. You can also find it in southern South America, in a region called Tierra del Fuego.
In New Zealand, this grass likes to grow in high, rocky places. These are often subalpine (just below the tree line) or alpine (above the tree line) areas. On the subantarctic islands, it grows in lower areas. It can be found in wet, spongy ground called peat, or among mosses and cushion plants. Sometimes, it grows as small, scattered plants in rocky, open ground known as fellfield.
