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