Calamagrostis sesquiflora
Calamagrostis epigejos
one-and-a-half-flower reedgrass
bushgrass, calamagrostide commune, calamagrostide épigéois, Chee reedgrass, feathertop, feathertop reed grass
(15)30-46(50) cm, unbranched, usually smooth, rarely slightly scabrous 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 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.
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.
4-11(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.
(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.
(5)5.5-8.5(9.5) mm;
rachilla prolongations (1)1.5(2.2) mm, hairs 1-2.2 mm.
(4)4.5-5.5(8) mm;
rachilla prolongations about 1 mm, hairs about 3 mm.
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.
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.
= 28, 35, 42, 56, ±70.
Calamagrostis sesquiflora
Calamagrostis epigejos
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.)
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
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
