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bog bluegrass

Habit Plants perennial, 15–100 cm, often partially purplish, more or less cespitose.
Basal branching

mostly extravaginal.

Leaves

sheaths closed 25–67% of their length; smooth or sparsely scabrous;

ligules 1.5– 4(6)mm;

blades flat, 1–4 mm wide.

Inflorescences

lax; open; sparse, 5–15 cm;

branches spreading to reflexed; capillary; (2)3– 8 cm, 1–3(5) per node, usually moderately scabrous, with (3)4– 15 spikelets.

Spikelets

lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, 4–8 mm, green, or partly purple to dark purple;

florets 2–5.

Glumes

tapered from the base or lanceolate; thin;

keels usually scabrous;

lower glumes 1-veined;

upper glumes distinctly shorter than to nearly equaling lowest lemma.

Calluses

with sparse cobwebby hairs.

Lemmas

lanceolate, 3–4 mm, often partly purple, distinctly keeled; thin; smooth, or sparsely scabrous near the tip;

keels softly puberulent to long-villous on 25–67% the length; marginal veins softly puberulent to long-villous;

hairs frequently sparse;

lateral veins and area between veins glabrous;

margins infolded;

tips sharply acute to acuminate, usually bronze-colored.

Anthers

0.2–1.1 mm.

2n

=42.

Poa leptocoma

Distribution
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Montane to alpine streamsides, lakeshores, and wet meadows. 1100–2800m. BR, BW, Casc, ECas, Sisk. CA, ID, NV, WA; western Canada and US; Asia. Native.

Poa leptocoma is a loosely cespitose grass with short anthers and somewhat open panicles. It is most similar to P. reflexa, a plant of drier habitats that has less scabrous panicle branches, longer anthers, and sparsely hairy lateral lemma veins, at least on one side of the lemma.

Source Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 459
Rob Soreng, Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting
Sibling taxa
P. alpina, P. annua, P. bolanderi, P. bulbosa, P. chambersii, P. compressa, P. confinis, P. cusickii, P. fendleriana, P. glauca, P. howellii, P. iconia, P. infirma, P. laxiflora, P. leibergii, P. lettermanii, P. macrantha, P. mansfieldii, P. marcida, P. nemoralis, P. nervosa, P. palustris, P. piperi, P. pratensis, P. pringlei, P. reflexa, P. rhizomata, P. secunda, P. stenantha, P. suksdorfii, P. trivialis, P. unilateralis, P. wallowensis, P. wheeleri
Synonyms Poa leptocoma ssp. leptocoma, Poa leptocoma var. leptocoma, Poa vaseyochloa
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