I'm hoping someone here can help me, I'm doing some research for my dissertation into heavy metal contamination and have collected some vegetation samples for testing. I'd like to identify the plants if possible. My background is in geography so I'm a bit out of my depth. The first seven pictures are from a vegetated mine tailing at ~300ft, without shade in the UK. In April the area had low-lying green grass and in July had tall (60-90cm) yellow grass. I think it may belong to the family Festuca but am not sure. The spikelets are 55mm long on average. The eighth and ninth are from a low-lying river bank, in July. The tenth is from a field which was recently cut for hay, in July. The eleventh and twelveth are from a field in July. Here are the photos: http://s430.photobucket.com/albums/qq26/tamatisk/ I would appreciate any help or points in the right direction.
Just a suggestion! You might wish to contact....... the Field Studies Council. See... http://www.field-studies-council.org/ OR....... The Wildlife Trusts. See... http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/ Both these organisations will know of an expert, near you, that may be willing to visit you sites to advice you as to the name of these grasses. You never know, they may have already carried our a complete survey of the area. Hope this helps.
#1-2 looks like Holcus lanatus. For the rest, close-ups of the seedheads and leaf bases would be the best; try to get the focus exact!
