Calamagrostis koelerioides
Calamagrostis epigejos
dense-pine reed grass, fire reedgrass
bushgrass, calamagrostide commune, calamagrostide épigéois, Chee reedgrass, feathertop, feathertop reed grass
(26)60-85(120) cm, unbranched, slightly scabrous;
nodes 2-3(5).
(50)100-150(160) cm, unbranched, slightly scabrous beneath the panicles;
nodes (1)2-4(6).
and collars usually scabrous, rarely smooth, glabrous;
ligules (1.5) 2-4.5(7) mm, truncate to obtuse, entire or sometimes lacerate;
blades (2)9-20(30) cm long, (2)2.5-4.5(8) mm wide, flat, slightly scabrous, adaxial surfaces glabrous or sparsely hairy.
and collars smooth or slightly scabrous;
ligules (1.5)3-7(13) mm, truncate to obtuse, usually entire, infrequently lacerate;
blades (6)25-40(55) cm long, (2.5)3.5-8(13) mm wide, flat, pale green, scabrous.
(4)10-13(16) cm long, about 1 cm wide, contracted, erect to slightly nodding, often slightly interrupted towards the base, straw-colored or pale green to pale purple;
branches (1.1)2.8-4(6) cm, scabrous, spikelet-bearing to the base.
(14)18-23(35) cm long, (2)2.5-4(6) cm wide, erect, contracted, greenish;
branches (3.5)5-8(11) cm, smooth or slightly scabrous, spikelets usually confined to the distal 3/4, infrequently confined to the distal 1/2.
(4)4.5-6(7) mm;
rachilla prolongations 1.5-2.5(3) mm, hairs 1.5-2 mm.
(4)4.5-5.5(8) mm;
rachilla prolongations about 1 mm, hairs about 3 mm.
slightly keeled, keels smooth or slightly scabrous distally, lateral veins visible but not prominent, apices acute;
callus hairs 1.5-2 mm, 0.3-0.4 times as long as the lemmas, sparse;
lemmas (3.5)4-5(6) mm, 0.5-1.5 mm shorter than the glumes;
awns 4-5.5 mm, attached to the lower 1/10 – 1/5 of the lemmas, exserted, sometimes barely so, stout, distinguishable from the callus hairs, bent;
anthers 2-3.5 mm.
slightly keeled, usually smooth, infrequently scabrous near the apices, lateral veins prominent, apices long-acuminate;
callus hairs (2)3.5-5(6.5) mm, (1.3)1.5-2(2.5) times as long as the lemmas, abundant;
lemmas 2-3.5(5) mm, (1.5)2-3(4.5) mm shorter than the glumes;
awns (1.5)2-3(4) mm, attached to the lower 1/3-2/3 of the lemmas, not exserted, delicate, not easily distinguished from the callus hairs, usually straight, infrequently bent;
anthers about (1)1.5(2) mm.
= 28.
= 28, 35, 42, 56, ±70.
Calamagrostis koelerioides
Calamagrostis epigejos
Calamagrostis koelerioides grows in mountain meadows, chaparral, and Jeffrey pine and blue spruce forests, and on talus slopes, dry hills, and ridges, occasionally on serpentine soils, at 50-2100 m. It extends from Washington south to southern California and east to Montana and western Wyoming.
Calamagrostis koelerioides is similar to C. rubescens (p. 723). The two have traditionally been distinguished by the presence of hairs on the leaf collars in C. rubescens, and their absence in C. koelerioides; a more reliable differentiation is the longer lemmas, glumes, and awns of C. koelerioides compared to C. rubescens.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Calamagrostis epigejos is an introduced Eurasian species that was first found in North America in the 1920s. It grows in waste places, along roadsides, in juniper swamps, sandy woods, and thickets, and on rehabilitated tailings and cinders of railway beds. It is known from scattered locations in southern Canada and the contiguous United States. It is probably more widespread than shown. In 2005, it was collected from the west coast, in southwestern British Columbia, for the first time.
In Ontario, Calamagrostis epigejos became established from impurities in seed mixtures used for highway roadcut revegetation. Rhizomes purchased from Manitoba have been used to stabilize gold mine tailings in Ontario. In Wisconsin, it was planted for erosion control at least as early as 1950. The Idaho record is from reseeded rangeland plots, and the Wyoming one from plants grown from purchased rhizomes.
Greene (1980) stated that almost all plants from the Flora region fit Calamagrostis epigejos var. georgica (K. Koch) Griseb. Because there is notable variability and overlap in the characteristics used to distinguish the varieties in Eurasia, no attempt has been made to provide a varietal treatment for the Flora region. Hybrids of C. epigejos with C. arundinacea (L.) Roth are called C. xacutiflora (p. 721).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
