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calamagrostide de lapponie, Lapland reedgrass

bluejoint, bluejoint grass, bluejoint reedgrass, calamagrostide du Canada, Canada reed grass

Habit Plants rarely with sterile culms; loosely cespitose, with rhizomes 3-6+ cm long, 1-2 mm thick. Plants with sterile culms; cespitose, with rhizomes 2-15+ cm long, 1-3 mm thick.
Culms

(12)35-50(90) cm, unbranched, smooth beneath the panicles;

nodes 1-2(3).

(32)65-112(180) cm, often branching above the base, smooth or slightly scabrous beneath the panicles;

nodes (2)3-7(8).

Sheaths

and collars usually smooth, rarely with short hairs;

ligules (0.5)2-4(5.5) mm, usually truncate, entire;

blades (4)8-18(26) cm long, (1.5)2-3.5(4) mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces usually smooth, rarely slightly scabrous, adaxial surfaces usually smooth or scabrous, rarely sparsely hairy.

smooth or scabrous;

collars usually scabrous, rarely smooth or hairy;

ligules (1)3-8(12) mm, lacerate;

blades (10)16-31(50) cm long, 2-8(11) mm wide, flat, lax, abaxial surfaces scabrous, adaxial surfaces usually strongly scabrous, rarely smooth or with scattered hairs, often glaucous.

Panicles

(4)8-11(16) cm long, (0.7)1-2(2.8) cm wide, mostly erect, loosely contracted, purple;

branches (2.1)2.5-3.5(5.4) cm, smooth or slightly scabrous, sometimes spikelet-bearing to the base, sometimes only on the distal 2/3.

(6)9-17(25) cm long, (1)2-4(8) cm wide, often contracted when young, open at maturity, nodding, usually purplish, sometimes greenish to straw-colored;

branches 2.7-6(12) cm, scabrous, spikelets sparsely to densely concentrated on the distal 2/3.

Spikelets

(3.5)4-5(5.5) mm;

rachilla prolongations 0.4-1 mm, hairs 1.8-3 mm.

2-4.5(5.2) mm;

rachilla prolongations 0.5-1 mm, hairs 1.5-3.2 mm.

Glumes

usually more than 3 times as long as wide, rounded to slightly keeled, usually purple for most of their length and smooth, keels rarely slightly scabrous, lateral veins obscure, apices acute to acuminate;

callus hairs (2)3-3.5(4.7) mm, (0.6)0.8-1(1.2) times as long as the lemmas, abundant;

lemmas (2.5)3-4(5) mm, 0.3-1.5 (2.3) mm shorter than the glumes;

awns 1.5-3 mm, attached to the lower 1/10 – 2/5 of the lemmas, usually not exserted, usually slender and similar to the callus hairs, sometimes stouter, straight to somewhat bent;

anthers (1.1)1.3-1.7(2) mm, usually poorly developed, sterile.

rounded or keeled, smooth or scabrous, keels often long-scabrous, lateral veins obscure to prominent, apices acute to acuminate;

callus hairs (1.5)2-3.5(4.5) mm, (0.5)0.9-1.2(1.5) times as long as the lemmas, abundant;

lemmas 2-3.1(4) mm, 0-2.1 mm shorter than the glumes;

awns 0.9-3.1 mm, attached to the lower (1/10)1/5-1/2(7/10) of the lemmas, usually not exserted, delicate, often difficult to distinguish from the callus hairs, usually straight;

anthers (0.8)1.2-1.6(2.6) mm.

2n

= 28, 42-112, 140.

= 42-66.

Calamagrostis lapponica

Calamagrostis canadensis

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

Calamagrostis lapponica grows in northern and alpine tundra, particularly on ridgecrests and upper slopes, often with low shrubs including heathers, dwarf willows, and dwarf birch, usually on well-drained and coarse-textured (sand and gravel) soils, infrequently in meadows beside streams and lakeshores, very rarely in standing water, at 30-2300 m. It is circumboreal and circumpolar, ranging from Alaska to western Greeneland and Labrador, including the islands of the high arctic, south into the mountains of northern British Columbia and the west-central Rocky Mountains of Alberta. In Europe it extends south to about 60° N latitude, and in Asia south to North Korea.

Calamagrostis lapponica is sometimes easily confused with C. stricta (see next), but the two grow in different habitats. In addition, the glumes of C. lapponica have a smoother, more glossy appearance than those of C. stricta and are typically purple for most of their length, including the apices; the glumes of C. stricta are generally brown at the apices. A specimen from Nakat Inlet, Alaska (ALA #V116195, J. DeLapp and M. Duffy 93-339) appears to be C. lapponica, although it is in a very different habitat and at an unusually low elevation for the species.

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

Calamagrostis canadensis is a species of moist meadows, thickets, bog edges, and forest openings. It grows from sea level to 3400 m. It occurs widely throughout the Flora region, except in Oklahoma, Texas, and the southeastern United States. Its range also extends from northern Asia to northeastern China and Japan, with additional scattered populations elsewhere in Asia. Calamagrostis canadensis is closely related to, and possibly conspecific with, the European C. purpurea (Trin.) Trin. It hybridizes with Ammophila breviligulata (p. 777) in Grand Island, Michigan and on the adjacent mainland, forming xCalammophila don-hensonii Reznicek & Judz. Calamagrostis canadensis also appears to form hybrids with the nearly sympatric C. porteri (p. 721) in rocky wooded sites in central Virginia. These putative hybrids have hairy collars, relatively long callus hairs, and short awns. The apparently sterile C. perplexa (see previous) is intermediate between C. canadensis and C. porteri (Greene 1980).

A high degree of pollen sterility has been documented in some populations, suggesting that seed formation via apomixis is common; sexual reproduction is also documented. The many forms, varieties, and subspecies that have been described for this species probably represent clones. The three varieties recognized here intergrade, and an argument could be made that their recognition is not warranted. Nevertheless, the extreme forms along the gradient of variation can be distinguished most readily by the glumes.

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

Key
1. Spikelets (3.5)4-4.5(5.2) mm long; glumes usually scabrous over the entire surface, the prickles on the keels hairlike, often bent; glume apices distinctly acuminate
var. langsdorffii
1. Spikelets 2-4 mm long; glumes smooth or scabrous, often scabrous only on the keels, prickles straight; glume apices acute, rarely acuminate.
→ 2
2. Spikelets 2.5-4 mm long, lemmas usually shorter than the glumes; glumes rounded to broadly keeled, with raised midveins; glume apices usually acute, rarely acuminate
var. canadensis
2. Spikelets 2-3 mm long; lemmas usually about as long as the glumes; glumes rounded, midveins not raised; glume apices acute
var. macouniana
Source FNA vol. 24, p. 729. FNA vol. 24, p. 726.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Calamagrostis Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Calamagrostis
Sibling taxa
C. bolanderi, C. breweri, C. cainii, C. canadensis, C. cinnoides, C. deschampsioides, C. epigejos, C. foliosa, C. howellii, C. koelerioides, C. montanensis, C. muiriana, C. nutkaensis, C. ophitidis, C. perplexa, C. pickeringii, C. porteri, C. purpurascens, C. rubescens, C. scopulorum, C. sesquiflora, C. stricta, C. tacomensis, C. tweedyi, C. ×acutiflora
C. bolanderi, C. breweri, C. cainii, C. cinnoides, C. deschampsioides, C. epigejos, C. foliosa, C. howellii, C. koelerioides, C. lapponica, C. montanensis, C. muiriana, C. nutkaensis, C. ophitidis, C. perplexa, C. pickeringii, C. porteri, C. purpurascens, C. rubescens, C. scopulorum, C. sesquiflora, C. stricta, C. tacomensis, C. tweedyi, C. ×acutiflora
Subordinate taxa
C. canadensis var. canadensis, C. canadensis var. langsdorffii, C. canadensis var. macouniana
Synonyms C. lapponica var. nearctica, C. lapponica var. groenlandica C. anomala
Name authority (Wahlenb.) Hartm. (Michx.) P. Beauv.
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