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agrostide stolonifere, carpet bentgrass, creeping bent, creeping bentgrass, fiorin, redtop, spreading bent

Hall's bent, Hall's bent grass

Habit Plants perennial; stoloniferous, stolons 5-100+ cm, rooting at the nodes, often forming a dense mat, without rhizomes. Plants perennial; rhizomatous, rhizomes to 50 cm, not stoloniferous.
Culms

(8)15-60 cm, erect from a geniculate base, sometimes rooting at the lower nodes, with (2)4-7 nodes.

17-100 cm, erect.

Leaves

mostly cauline;

sheaths smooth;

ligules longer than wide, dorsal surfaces usually scabrous, rarely smooth, apices usually rounded, acute to truncate, erose to lacerate, basal ligules 0.7-4 mm, upper ligules 3-7.5 mm;

blades 2-10 cm long, 2-6 mm wide, flat.

mostly cauline or somewhat basally concentrated;

sheaths smooth;

ligules 2.3-7 mm, dorsal surfaces scabrous, apices acute, usually lacerate;

blades 6-20 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, flat.

Panicles

(3)4-20 cm long, less than 1/2 the length of the culm, 0.5-3(6) cm wide, narrowly contracted, dense, oblong to lanceolate, exserted from the sheaths at maturity, lowest node with 1-7 branches;

branches scabrous, ascending to appressed, except briefly spreading during anthesis, usually some branches at each node spikelet-bearing to the base, lower branches 2-6 cm;

pedicels 0.3-3.3 mm.

7-22 cm long, 1.5-5.5(7) cm wide, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, more or less open to dense, lowest node with 2-15 branches;

branches scabridulous, ascending to more or less appressed, mostly branching at or above midlength, some branching near the base, lower branches 1-5 cm;

pedicels 0.5-6 mm.

Spikelets

lanceolate, green and slightly to strongly suffused with purple.

lanceolate, yellow-green, often tinged with purple.

Glumes

subequal to unequal, 1.6-3 mm, lanceolate, 1-veined, sometimes scabridulous distally, at least on the midvein, acute to acuminate or apiculate;

callus hairs to 0.5 mm, sparse;

lemmas 1.4-2 mm, opaque to translucent, smooth, 5-veined, veins obscure or prominent distally, apices acute to obtuse, entire or the veins excurrent to about 0.1 mm, usually unawned, rarely with a subapical straight awn to about 1 mm;

paleas 0.7-1.4 mm, veins visible;

anthers 3, 0.9-1.4 mm.

equal to subequal, 2.5-4 mm, 1-veined, scabrous to scabridulous on the midvein, at least distally, sometimes also sparsely scabridulous over the back, acute to acuminate;

callus hairs (0.8)1-2 mm, abundant, conspicuous;

lemmas 2-3 mm, smooth, translucent to opaque, 5-veined, veins prominent at least distally, apices acute, entire or erose, sometimes toothed, teeth to about 0.2 mm, unawned;

paleas absent, or to 0.2 mm and thin;

anthers 3,1.5-2.3 mm.

Caryopses

0.9-1.3 mm;

endosperm solid.

1.5-2 mm.

2n

= 28, 35,42.

= 42.

Agrostis stolonifera

Agrostis hallii

Distribution
from FNA
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; HI; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; Greenland
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[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Agrostis stolonifera grows in areas that are often temporarily flooded, such as lakesides, marshes, salt marshes, lawns, and damp fields, as well as moist meadows, forest openings, and along streams. It will also colonize disturbed sites such as ditches, clearcuts, and overgrazed pastures. Its North American range extends from the subarctic into Mexico, mostly at low to middle elevations.

Agrostis stolonifera has been confused with A. gigantea (see previous). It is considered to be Eurasian, but some northern salt marsh and lakeside populations may be native. Agrostis stolonifera is also similar to A. castellana (p. 639); it differs in having longer, acute to truncate ligules that are longer than wide, and in possessing extensive stolons. The names A. palustris Huds. and A. maritima Lam. have been applied to plants with longer stolons; all forms intergrade. A hybrid between A. stolonifera and Polypogon monspeliensis, xAgropogon lutosus (p. 668), has been found in the Flora region. It differs from A. stolonifera in having awned glumes and lemmas. Agrostis stolonifera readily hybridizes with A. vinealis (see below), the hybrids being somewhat intermediate between the two parents.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Agrostis hallii is primarily coastal, growing in open areas of oak and coniferous forests in Oregon and California.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 641. FNA vol. 24, p. 653.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Agrostis Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Agrostis
Sibling taxa
A. anadyrensis, A. blasdalei, A. canina, A. capillaris, A. castellana, A. clavata, A. densiflora, A. elliottiana, A. exarata, A. gigantea, A. hallii, A. hendersonii, A. hooveri, A. howellii, A. hyemalis, A. idahoensis, A. mertensii, A. microphylla, A. nebulosa, A. oregonensis, A. pallens, A. perennans, A. rossiae, A. scabra, A. tolucensis, A. variabilis, A. vinealis
A. anadyrensis, A. blasdalei, A. canina, A. capillaris, A. castellana, A. clavata, A. densiflora, A. elliottiana, A. exarata, A. gigantea, A. hendersonii, A. hooveri, A. howellii, A. hyemalis, A. idahoensis, A. mertensii, A. microphylla, A. nebulosa, A. oregonensis, A. pallens, A. perennans, A. rossiae, A. scabra, A. stolonifera, A. tolucensis, A. variabilis, A. vinealis
Synonyms A. stolonifera var. palustris, A. stolonifera var. compacta, A. palustris, A. maritima, A. alba var. stolonifera, A. alba var. palustris, A. alba forma aristigera
Name authority L Vasey
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