Phalaris lemmonii
Phalaris aquatica
bulbous canarygrass
sometimes swollen at the base, rooting at the lower nodes.
blades 5–15(20) cm × 0.5– 10 mm.
cylindric, sometimes ovoid, occasionally lobed at the base, 1.5–15 × 1–2.5 cm; the spikelets borne singly;
branches obscure;
disarticulation above the glumes.
all alike, 2–3(4) florets; lower floret(s) sterile.
4.4–7.5 × 1.2–1.5 mm;
keels winged distally;
wings 0.2–0.4 mm wide, usually entire;
lateral veins conspicuous, not scabrous;
tips acute.
upper sterile floret 1–3 mm and pubescent, nearly as long as the fertile floret; lower sterile floret; if present; to 0.7 mm.
3.1–4.6 × 1.2–1.5 mm;
lemmas straw-colored, pubescent; acute.
3–3.6 mm.
=28.
Phalaris lemmonii
Phalaris aquatica
Mesic to seasonally wet areas, disturbed areas, roadsides, ditch banks, prairies, often in clay soils. 0–400m. CR, Sisk, WV. CA; MT; nearly worldwide. Exotic.
Phalaris aquatica is a tall grass with a dense, oval inflorescence. It is the only Oregon Phalaris that does not consistently have two sterile florets in each spikelet. It often grows near P. arundinacea, which is strongly rhizomatous, has a lobed inflorescence with longer, more spreading branches, and usually grows in wetter microsites. Phalaris aquatica hybridizes with both P. minor and P. arundinacea. These hybrids have been cultivated for forage.
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting
CA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
OR
