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calamagrostide de lapponie, Lapland reedgrass

leafy reed grass

Habit Plants rarely with sterile culms; loosely cespitose, with rhizomes 3-6+ cm long, 1-2 mm thick. Plants sometimes with sterile culms; cespitose, rhizomes occasionally present, shorter than 1 cm.
Culms

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

nodes 1-2(3).

(25)30-60(70) cm, unbranched, mostly smooth, sparsely scabrous beneath the panicles;

nodes 1-3.

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.

and collars usually smooth;

ligules (3)4-6(7) mm, usually truncate to obtuse, usually entire, sometimes lacerate;

blades (10)11-21(27) cm long, (1.5)2-2.5(4) mm wide, mostly basal, flat or involute, abaxial surfaces smooth, adaxial surfaces slightly scabrous, glabrous or sparsely hairy.

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.

(9)10-12(19) cm long, 1-1.5(2.5) cm wide, erect to slightly nodding, contracted, branches sometimes slightly spreading at the base, usually pale green, rarely pale purple;

branches (2)3-4(5) cm, sparsely scabrous, spikelet-bearing to the base.

Spikelets

(3.5)4-5(5.5) mm;

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

(7)8-11 mm;

rachilla prolongations (1.5)2(3) mm, prominently bearded, hairs 2-3 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.

keeled, keels smooth or scabrous, lateral veins prominent, apices acuminate;

callus hairs 2.5-3(4) mm, 0.4-0.6 times as long as the lemmas, abundant;

lemmas (5)6-7(8) mm, (0.5)1-2(3) mm shorter than the glumes;

awns 12-14(17) mm, attached to the lower 1/10 – 2/5 of the lemmas, exserted more than 2 mm, easily distinguished from the callus hairs, bent;

anthers 3-4.5 mm.

2n

= 28, 42-112, 140.

= 28.

Calamagrostis lapponica

Calamagrostis foliosa

Distribution
from FNA
AK; AB; BC; MB; NF; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[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 foliosa grows in coastal scrub and forest, and on rocks and crevices of bluffs and cliffs, from sea level to 1200 m. It is known only from Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties in California.

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

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 729. FNA vol. 24, p. 714.
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. canadensis, C. cinnoides, C. deschampsioides, C. epigejos, 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
Synonyms C. lapponica var. nearctica, C. lapponica var. groenlandica
Name authority (Wahlenb.) Hartm. Kearney
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