Medusahead Facts
Medusahead Facts
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| Interesting Medusahead Facts: |
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| Medusahead produces several erect, slender stems that can reach 6 to 24 inches in height. Young plants are green colored. Mature plants can be recognized by purple or tan-colored stem. |
| Medusahead has narrow, upright, bright green leaves. |
| Flowers of medusahead are arranged in terminal spikes with 2 to 3 spikelets per node. Medusahead is also known as "medusahead rye" because of its spikes which resemble the spikes of rye. Flowers contain both types of reproductive organs (perfect flowers). |
| Medusahead blooms early in the spring (usually during the May). Most plants reproduce through self-pollination. Some flowers are pollinated by wind. |
| Fruit of medusahead is seed head equipped with 2 types of bristles: short and long. Long bristles are covered with barbs which facilitate spreading of seed (by attaching to the fur of various animals). Each seed head contains around 20 seed. Fruit ripens during June and July. |
| Medusahead propagates via seed. Animals, water and wind are responsible for dispersal of seed, which often germinates along the trails of domestic cattle (when animals discard fur covered with seed). |
| Seed of medusahead starts to germinate in autumn. Root develops during the winter. Parts of the plant above the ground start to develop at the beginning of the spring. |
| Name "medusahead" refers to numerous, stiff, wiry fibrous bristles on the seed head which resemble the snakes on the head of Medusa (mythological creature). |
| Medusahead is rich source of silica, mineral that is part of many types of rocks. |
| Medusahead is inedible due to high content of silica. Consumption of this plant can induce injuries of mouth, eyes and nose and damage of teeth. |
| Medusahead decomposes slowly. It creates thick mulch on the surface of the ground which prevents growth of other, commercially important types of plants (especially those that are used for feeding the cattle). Medusahead can reduce grazing capacity for nearly 80%. |
| Accumulated stacks of dried medusahead facilitate spreading of fires in the wild. |
| People fight against medusahead using the fire, herbicide, tiling, clearing and early grazing (young plants contain small amount of silica). |
| Medusahead cannot be used for the erosion control because of its shallow root system. |
| Medushead is an annual plant, which means that it completes its life cycle in one year. |
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