Calamagrostis rubescens
Calamagrostis epigejos
pine reed grass, pinegrass
bushgrass, calamagrostide commune, calamagrostide épigéois, Chee reedgrass, feathertop, feathertop reed grass
(50)60-100(105) cm, unbranched, usually smooth, rarely slightly scabrous beneath the panicles;
nodes (1)2-3(4).
(50)100-150(160) cm, unbranched, slightly scabrous beneath the panicles;
nodes (1)2-4(6).
smooth or slightly scabrous;
collars often hairy, rarely glabrous;
ligules (2)3-5(6) mm, truncate to obtuse, often lacerate;
blades (6)8-40(42) cm long, (1)2-5(8) mm wide, usually flat, abaxial surfaces smooth or slightly scabrous, adaxial surfaces smooth or scabrous, glabrous or 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.
(5)6-15(25) cm long, (0.7)1.5-2(2.7) cm wide, contracted to somewhat open, erect, usually greenish, infrequently purplish;
branches (1.2)2-4(10) cm, usually slightly scabrous, rarely densely long-scabrous, spikelet-bearing to the base.
(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)4-4.5(5.5) mm;
rachilla prolongations 0.6-1.5(2) mm, hairs 1.2-2 mm.
(4)4.5-5.5(8) mm;
rachilla prolongations about 1 mm, hairs about 3 mm.
rounded to slightly keeled, mostly smooth, keels rarely slightly scabrous, lateral veins usually obscure, rarely prominent, apices acute;
callus hairs (0.5)1-1.5(2.5) mm, 0.2-0.5(0.7) times as long as the lemmas, sparse;
lemmas 2.5-3.5(4) mm, (0.5)1-2 mm shorter than the glumes;
awns 2.8-3.5(4.5) mm, usually attached to the lower 1/5 of the lemmas, rarely higher, exserted, stout and readily distinguished from the callus hairs, strongly bent;
anthers (1)1.3-2(2.6) mm.
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, 56.
= 28, 35, 42, 56, ±70.
Calamagrostis rubescens
Calamagrostis epigejos
Calamagrostis rubescens grows at 50-2800 m, usually in open montane pine or aspen forests and parklands, infrequently in sagebrush steppes, chaparral, and meadows. It is primarily a species of interior western North America, although it reaches the Pacific coast in southern California. The distribution extends from central British Columbia and Alberta east to the Cypress Hills of eastern Alberta and the Pasquia and Cub hills of Saskatchewan, south to western California, Nevada, northeastern Utah, and central Colorado. It is considered threatened in Saskatchewan.
Calamagrostis rubescens is similar to C. koelerioides (p. 721). The two have traditionally been distinguished by the presence of hairs on the leaf collars of C. rubescens, and their absence from C. koelerioides; a more reliable differentiation is the shorter lemmas, glumes, and awns of C. rubescens. Calamagrostis rubescens and C. porteri (p. 721) appear to be closely related. They may be part of the general phenomenon of eastern and western vicariants.
(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.)
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