Dichanthelium lanuginosum
In Gibbon Geyser Basin, Yellowstone N.P.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Genus: Dichanthelium
Species:
D. lanuginosum
Binomial name
Dichanthelium lanuginosum
(Ell.) Gould

Dichanthelium lanuginosum is a species of rosette grass native to North America. It is most common in the central and eastern United States. It is found in a variety of habitats, mostly in open, dry areas.[1]

A variety, D. lanuginosum var. thermale, grows in geothermal areas of Yellowstone National Park, United States. It is able to withstand high temperatures and high acidity in its rhizosphere.[2] In 2007 it was found that the heat tolerance is conferred to the grass by a symbiosis between a fungus and a virus. When it is colonised by the fungus Curvularia protuberata and the fungus is in turn colonised by a particular virus, the grass is able to tolerate soil temperatures of up to 65 °C that would otherwise be lethal.[3] Due to the distinctiveness and isolation of this taxon, it is sometimes considered to be a separate species: Dichanthelium thermale.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Thomas, Justin (21 September 2015). "Revision of Dichanthelium sect. Lanuginosa (POACEAE)" (PDF). Phytoneuron. 2015 (50): 1–50. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  2. Stout, R. G.; Stout R. G.; Summers M. L.; Kerstetter T.; McDermott T. R. (1997). "Heat- and acid-tolerance of a grass commonly found in geothermal areas within Yellowstone National Park". Plant Science. 130 (1): 1–9. doi:10.1016/S0168-9452(97)00205-7. ISSN 0168-9452.
  3. Márquez, Luis; Regina Redman; Russell Rodriguez; Marilyn J. Roossinck (2007). "A Virus in a Fungus in a Plant: Three-Way Symbiosis Required for Thermal Tolerance". Science. 315 (5811): 513–5. doi:10.1126/science.1136237. PMID 17255511.


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