Calamagrostis lapponica
Calamagrostis epigejos
calamagrostide de lapponie, Lapland reedgrass
bushgrass, calamagrostide commune, calamagrostide épigéois, Chee reedgrass, feathertop, feathertop reed grass
(12)35-50(90) cm, unbranched, smooth beneath the panicles;
nodes 1-2(3).
(50)100-150(160) cm, unbranched, slightly scabrous beneath the panicles;
nodes (1)2-4(6).
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.
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)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.
(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.
(3.5)4-5(5.5) mm;
rachilla prolongations 0.4-1 mm, hairs 1.8-3 mm.
(4)4.5-5.5(8) mm;
rachilla prolongations about 1 mm, hairs about 3 mm.
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.
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, 42-112, 140.
= 28, 35, 42, 56, ±70.
Calamagrostis lapponica
Calamagrostis epigejos
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 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.)
BC
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WildflowerSearch
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USDA Plants Database
