Calamagrostis koelerioides
Calamagrostis perplexa
dense-pine reed grass, fire reedgrass
wood reedgrass
(26)60-85(120) cm, unbranched, slightly scabrous;
nodes 2-3(5).
(80)85-110(120) cm, sometimes branched, smooth or slightly scabrous beneath the panicles;
nodes 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.
smooth;
collars densely hairy;
ligules (3)4-6(7) mm, lacerate;
blades (10)15-30(35) cm long, (3)4.5-6.5(7) mm wide, flat, scabridulous, adaxial surfaces glabrous or sparsely hairy.
(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.
10-18(20) cm long, (1)2-3 cm wide, open, erect to nodding, green, purple-tinged;
branches 5-6.5 cm, spikelets usually confined to the distal 1/4-1/2.
(4)4.5-6(7) mm;
rachilla prolongations 1.5-2.5(3) mm, hairs 1.5-2 mm.
(3)3.5-4 mm;
rachilla prolongations about 1 mm, hairs about 2 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.
keeled, scabrous on the keels, lateral veins usually prominent, apices acuminate;
callus hairs 2-3 mm, 0.7-1 times as long as the lemmas, somewhat sparse;
lemmas 3-3.5 mm, 0.5-1 mm shorter than the glumes;
awns 2-3 mm, attached to the lower 1/4-1/3 of the lemmas, not exserted, stout, distinguishable from the callus hairs, bent;
anthers 1-1.5 mm.
= 28.
= 70.
Calamagrostis koelerioides
Calamagrostis perplexa
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 perplexa grows on wet rocks and in dry woods at "Thatcher's Pinnacle" [Pinnacle Rock], Tompkins County, New York. There is also an unverified report of this species in Columbia County, New York. This apparently sterile species is intermediate between C. porteri (p. 721) and C. canadensis (see next) (Greene 1980). It is of conservation concern because of its limited distribution.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
