Calamagrostis lapponica
Calamagrostis nutkaensis
calamagrostide de lapponie, Lapland reedgrass
Nootka reedgrass, Pacific reed grass, reedgrass
(12)35-50(90) cm, unbranched, smooth beneath the panicles;
nodes 1-2(3).
(42)55-105 (150) cm, stout, unbranched, smooth or slightly scabrous beneath the panicles;
nodes 1-2(3).
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;
ligules (0.5)1-4(5.5) mm, usually truncate, entire, often hidden by the expanded collars;
blades (4)10-41(56) cm long, (2)4-10(20) mm wide, flat, usually erect, abaxial surfaces smooth, adaxial surfaces smooth or slightly scabrous, glabrous or sparsely hairy.
(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.
(8)12-23(33) cm long, (1.1)2-4.5(9) cm wide, contracted to somewhat loose, erect to slightly nodding, greenish yellow to purple-tinged;
branches 2.7-7(10.5) cm long, sparsely scabrous, spikelets usually confined to the distal 1/2.
(3.5)4-5(5.5) mm;
rachilla prolongations 0.4-1 mm, hairs 1.8-3 mm.
4.5-6.5(8) mm;
rachilla prolongations 0.5-1 mm, hairs 1-1.5 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.
keeled, smooth or infrequently scabrous on the keels, lateral veins somewhat prominent, apices acuminate;
callus hairs (1)2-2.5(3) mm, (0.2)0.5-0.7 times as long as the lemmas, sparse;
lemmas (3)4-4.5(5) mm, (0.4)0.8-1.2(1.9) mm shorter than the glumes;
awns 1-3 mm, attached on the lower 1/3-1/2 of the lemmas, not exserted, easily distinguished from the callus hairs, straight or slightly bent;
anthers (1)2.4-2.6(3.3) mm.
= 28, 42-112, 140.
= 28.
Calamagrostis lapponica
Calamagrostis nutkaensis
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 nutkaensis grows in wetlands and openings in coniferous forests, on marine and freshwater beaches and dunes, and, sometimes, on cliffs. It is usually found within a few kilometers of the marine shoreline at or near sea level, but it sometimes occurs as high as 800 m on the Brooks Peninsula of Vancouver Island, British Columbia; at 700 m and 1100 m in the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon; and at 1100 m on Bald Mountain, California. It grows along the Pacific coast of North America from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to San Luis Obispo County, California, and also in the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia.
A hybrid between Calamagrostis nutkaensis and Ammophila arenaria (p. 777) was reported in the 1970s from the vicinity of Newport-Waldport in coastal Oregon, where both species grow (Kenton Chambers, pers. comm.). There is no voucher to support this report.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
