Calamagrostis lapponica
Calamagrostis sesquiflora
calamagrostide de lapponie, Lapland reedgrass
one-and-a-half-flower reedgrass
(12)35-50(90) cm, unbranched, smooth beneath the panicles;
nodes 1-2(3).
(15)30-46(50) cm, unbranched, usually smooth, rarely 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)2-5(6) mm, usually truncate, sometimes obtuse, usually entire, sometimes lacerate;
blades (3)8-25(31) cm long, (2)3-7 mm wide, flat, abaxial surfaces usually scabrous, rarely 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.
4-11(12) cm long, 0.8-2.5(2.8) cm wide, erect, contracted to somewhat open, usually purple-tinged, sometimes brown or green;
branches 1.5-3(4) cm, scabrous, prickles sometimes almost hairlike, usually spikelet-bearing to the base, lowest branches sometimes not so.
(3.5)4-5(5.5) mm;
rachilla prolongations 0.4-1 mm, hairs 1.8-3 mm.
(5)5.5-8.5(9.5) mm;
rachilla prolongations (1)1.5(2.2) mm, hairs 1-2.2 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, keels usually scabrous for their whole length, sometimes the surfaces also scabrous, lateral veins prominent, apices long-acuminate, usually twisted distally;
callus hairs (0.8)1.2-1.8(3) mm, 0.1-0.4 times as long as the lemmas, abundant;
lemmas (3.5)4-4.5(6) mm, (0.5)1-2.5(4.5) mm shorter than the glumes;
awns (5.4)7-11(13) mm, attached to the lower 1/10 – 2/5 of the lemmas, exserted more than 2 mm, stout, easily distinguished from the callus hairs, bent;
anthers (1.2)2.2-3(3.4) mm.
= 28, 42-112, 140.
= 28.
Calamagrostis lapponica
Calamagrostis sesquiflora
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 sesquiflora grows at 0-1000 m in open heath, meadows, and forest openings, on or at the base of open rocky cliffs and knolls, as well as in moist talus. It grows in strictly maritime habitats along the west coast of North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to the Queen Charlotte Islands and south to Vancouver Island (Brooks Peninsula) in British Columbia. There is also a single collection from the coast of mainland British Columbia. In northeast Asia, it ranges into the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Archipelago.
Some specimens from the northwestern United States are incorrectly identified, partly because an earlier name for Trisetum spicatum (L.) K. Richt. was Trisetum sesquiflorum Trin.
Calamagrostis sesquiflora has sometimes included C. tacomensis (see next) [as C. vaseyi Beal]. Several specimens that were previously identified as C. sesquiflora are actually C. tacomensis. Calamagrostis sesquiflora differs in preferring moister habitats, having wider leaves, callus hairs that are shorter relative to the lemmas, shorter panicle branches, and glumes that are often twisted at the apices.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
OR
Flora NW
