Calamagrostis koelerioides
Calamagrostis porteri
dense-pine reed grass, fire reedgrass
Porter's reedgrass
(26)60-85(120) cm, unbranched, slightly scabrous;
nodes 2-3(5).
(60)75-120 cm, unbranched, slightly scabrous;
nodes 2-4(5).
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 or slightly scabrous;
collars smooth or hairy;
ligules (1)2-5(6) mm, truncate to obtuse, entire or lacerate;
blades 8-40 cm long, (2)3-8(12) mm wide, flat, abaxial surfaces smooth or scabrous, adaxial surfaces smooth or slightly scabrous, occasionally with hairs.
(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.
(5)10-18(22) cm long, 0.8-3(7) cm wide, contracted to open, often slightly nodding, sometimes erect, green to pale purple;
branches (1.5)2-7(7.5) cm, scabrous, usually spikelet-bearing on the distal 1/2 - 2/3, sometimes to the base.
(4)4.5-6(7) mm;
rachilla prolongations 1.5-2.5(3) mm, hairs 1.5-2 mm.
4-5(6) mm;
rachilla prolongations 0.5-1 mm, hairs 1.5-2(3.5) 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.
rounded to slightly keeled, keels scabrous towards the apices, lateral veins obscure to slightly prominent, not raised, apices acute to acuminate;
callus hairs 1.5-2(3) mm, 0.4-0.7 times as long as the lemmas, sparse;
lemmas 3-4.5 mm, 0.5-1.5(2) mm shorter than the glumes;
awns 3-4(4.5) mm, attached to the lower 1/10 – 3/10 of the lemmas, exserted, stout, easily distinguished from the callus hairs, strongly bent;
anthers 2-2.5 mm.
= 28.
= 56, 84-+104.
Calamagrostis koelerioides
Calamagrostis porteri
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 porteri grows in dry chestnut/oak forests, often on rocky ridgetops, piedmont bluffs, and slopes, at (100)600-1300 m. It is now restricted to the northeastern and central United States. Historically, its range extended from Missouri and Arkansas east to New York and Alabama. Flowering appears to be a response to disturbance; plants in undisturbed habitats remain vegetative and may go unnoticed. Thus the species may be more widespread and abundant than reported.
Calamagrostis porteri and C. rubescens (see next) appear to be closely related. They may be part of the general phenomenon of eastern and western vicariants. The apparently sterile C. perplexa (p. 726) is intermediate between C. porteri and C. canadensis (Greene 1980).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaf blades glaucous on both surfaces; leaf collars glabrous | subsp. insperata |
1. Leaf blades light green and glaucous on the adaxial surfaces, darker green on the abaxial surfaces; leaf collars usually with prominent tufts of hair, rarely glabrous | subsp. porteri |
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