The Grasses of Ireland by John Feehan, Helen Sheridan, Damian Egan, Tony Farragher

Abstract

BOOK REVIEW Cite asfollows: Curtis, T.G.F. 2012 Book review: The Grasses ofIreland. Biology and Environment: Proceedings ofthe Royal Irish Academy 112B, DOI:10.3318/ BIOE.2012.26. The GrassesofIreland John FeehanandHelenSheridan. Photographs byDamianEgan.Keyto thevegetative and flowering phases byTonyFarragher (Teagasc2012;226 pp;€30paperback) ISBN 978-1-905254-61-3 This book originated froma perceived need of manypeopleto havea 'pictorial and lessformal introductory book thatmight serveas a stepping stonetothemoreacademic works on theproduction and naturalhistory of wild grasses'.Irish botanists havebeenpreviously wellserved bythe papers ofTonyFarragher andespecially hiskeys to grass species. Butgrasses area challenging subject, even to some experiencedbotanists, and the production of thismoregeneralguideis to be welcomed, especially as itsmoreagricultural slant provides muchinthewayofgoodinformation on theeconomicbenefits and eventhedownside to the cultivation of certaingrassspeciesas crops. Itsauthors, beingprimarily agricultural scientists, arevery goodatbeingobjective whenitcomesto thesupposed benefits ofsomespecies currently the 'darlings' ofindustrial agriculture, notably perennial rye-grass, ofwhichmoreanon! The acknowledgements explain the basic structure ofthebook,withthetextbasedmostly on personalobservation, with photographs by DamianEgan.Thesearesupplemented byfigures from someolderworks, notably Lewton-Brain for transverse sections andStabler andSchröter (1899) andLindeman (1922-1926).Mostofthesections areaccredited, sometoArmstrong, butsomenotat all,andsadlythisis butone ofthemanyinconsistencies that occurthroughout this book.Another instance is theuse ofIrishnameswithin thetext, butwithnames from John Whitefrom 1808,many of which he invented, superimposed upon the photographs. Whywe gettwocontrasting names isnotatallcleartothis reviewer. Andwhyshould thesummary figures for biodiversity valuebe based on British andnotIrish sources? The maintext begins witha description ofthe anatomy ofgrasses, wellillustrated byfigures. It's notclearfrom fig.5 how spikelets canbe singleflowered orhavemoreflowers, andfurther illustrationwouldhavebeenuseful as thisis always the stumbling blockforbeginners and even forthe moreadvanced.Therefollows sections are titled Pollination, Originsof Grasses,Grasslandand Farming, Biodiversity, Cultivation, Diversity of Swardand Why are GrassesChallenging? Then follows a sectionon whatis nota grass, and the comparisons betweenthatgroupand sedgesand rushes arepresented. It is stated thatconfusion is mostlikely withthevegetative stages ofall three groups butunfortunately itis thetextitself that is confusing - sedges aresaidto haveno glumes, but they do have!The accompanying pictures ofwhat are'Notgrasses' [sic]hasaninset fig.9a ofwhatis statedto be Carexelatabut whatis clearly saw sedge.Fig.9bissaidtobe Polygonum aviculare butis sea milkwort, Glauxmaritima , whileoverleaf the pictureof common cottongrass is Eriophorum angustifolium and not E. vaginatum as scripted. Perhaps morecareful checking wasneededin this section? Themainbodyofthebookpresents individual accountsof all our Irishgrassspecies,arranged systematically. The texts throughout arecomprehensive , informative andbeautifully complemented by photographs and illustrations. There is the addition ofa lotofgood information on invertebrates ,which may be of more interest to an agriculturalist thantoa botanist. The superimpositionof theIrishnamesin theold Irishscript is jarring and unattractive. However,a veryuseful feature hasbeentheinclusion ofnumbered 'GreenBoxes ',whichappearthroughout andpresent the salient features ofmanygrasses suchas thosewith coloured sheath bases, grasses with bristly leaves and thosegrasses havingearedleaves.Thereare unnumberedinsertstoo , including, for example, quotations from Gilbert White, Theflorin (Agrostis ) controversy anddescriptions ofergot. Allofthese are engagingand informative and lightenthe otherwise(necessarily) ponderoustone of the maintext. It is withitsecologicalinformation thatthis bookis atitsweakest. The section on theFescues willillustrate thepoint. Festuca pratensis issaidtobe 'one ofthemostimportant andwidespread grasses ofgooddry land'.Thisspecies isalsooneofdamp pastures and manylow-lying CountyLimerick pastures aredominated byit.Festuca arundinacea is saidto be a speciesof'undrained claysoils'when it's also a feature of fen margins and railway embankments, andRed fescue is foundin 'seminatural pastures anddrygrassy places'.Whatabout itsoccurrence onmountains, cliffs, fens, woodsand saltmarshes? The authors areprimarily agriculturalists andsomaybe excused thefinicky demands of theecologist inthisregard. Inplacesthis bookexcels asa polemic onpoor farming, grassland practice and the quotesfrom historical sourcesare apposite,illustrative and frequent. The moststriking of theseis thaton DOI:10.3318/BIOE.2012.26 Biology andEnvironment: Proceedings oftheRoyalIrish Academy, Vol.112B, 317-318 (2012).©RoyalIrish Academy 317 Book Review perennialrye-grass, which was describedby EdmundMurphy 'perhaps themostexhausting of all grasseson land'. There is a veryvaluable digression on the history of its use in the past whenit was grownas a seedlayto collectfrom rather thanforitsvalue as a sourceof grazing, whichisonlyrealised on richlands.Itisuseless on poorsoils.James Anderson stated thatthespecies 'extirpates all othergrasses and thisis worsethan anyofthem'! Thereisa goodsection onperennial rye-grass monocultures anditsuseinanimal health is questioned. So, whydoes modernagribusiness focuson this? Forprofit? Lolium multiflorum seems to actsimilarly. Undersaltmarsh grasses, Puccinellia spp,the value of P. maritima mighthave been highlighted, assheepgrazed on saltmarshes provide excellent lambandmutton, a factwellknownto thesheepfarmers ofcoastal France. The sectionon the meadow-grasses has a number ofshortcomings: theillustrations ofwood meadow-grass looknothing likethespecies inthe wild;Poa humilis is nota speciesofdampground butisfound onwalltops, sanddunesandother dry...