Calamagrostis stricta
Calamagrostis nutkaensis
narrow hairgrass, narrowspike reedgrass, neglected reed grass, slim-stem reed grass, slipstem reed grass
Nootka reedgrass, Pacific reed grass, reedgrass
(10)35-90(120) cm, usually unbranched, smooth to slightly scabrous;
nodes 1-3(4).
(42)55-105 (150) cm, stout, unbranched, smooth or slightly scabrous beneath the panicles;
nodes 1-2(3).
usually smooth;
collars usually smooth, sometimes scabrous, rarely pubescent;
ligules (0.5)1-5.5(6) mm, truncate to obtuse, usually entire, sometimes lacerate;
blades (5)11-25(34) cm long, (1)1.5-5(6) mm wide, flat or involute, usually scabrous, rarely smooth, sometimes puberulent.
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.
(2)4-18(29) cm long, (0.7)1-2(2.8) cm wide, erect, contracted, sometimes interrupted, pale green to purple;
branches 1.4-5(9.5) mm, smooth or scabrous, usually spikelet-bearing to or near the base, sometimes only to midlength.
(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.
2-4(5) mm;
rachilla prolongations 0.5-1.5 mm, hairs 1.5-3 mm.
4.5-6.5(8) mm;
rachilla prolongations 0.5-1 mm, hairs 1-1.5 mm.
usually less than 3 times as long as wide, rounded or keeled, usually smooth, rarely scabrous, keels smooth or scabrous, veins prominent to obscure, apices acute;
callus hairs (1)1.5-3(4.5) mm, (0.5)0.7-0.9(1.3) times as long as the lemmas, abundant;
lemmas 2-4(5) mm, 0.1-1.5 mm shorter than the glumes;
awns 1.5-2.5 mm, usually attached to the lower 1/10-1/2 of the lemmas, rarely beyond the midpoint, equaling or exserted slightly beyond the margins of the glumes, usually stout, rarely slender, usually distinguishable from the callus hairs, straight or bent;
anthers (0.9)1.2-1.8(2.4) mm, often 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.
Calamagrostis stricta
Calamagrostis nutkaensis
Calamagrostis stricta grows throughout northern North America; it also is found in Europe and northeastern Asia. It grows in habitats ranging from meadows and grassland to wetlands, sandy shorelines, and sand dunes, from sea level to 3400 m. Primarily a species of open settings, it is frequently found in association with shrubs. Both subspecies have a notable but not exclusive association with alkaline to saline substrates.
Calamagrostis stricta comprises both sexual and apomictic populations. Two subspecies, C. stricta subsp. stricta and subsp. inexpansa, intergrade but generally differ as described below. Greene (1984) treated subsp. inexpansa as consisting of the apomictic plants, probably derived from the sexual subsp. stricta. A number of apomictic variants were previously recognized at the species level; among these were C. lacustris (Kearney) Nash and C. fernaldii Louis-Marie, which are morphologically nearly indistinguishable from each other (Greene 1980, 1984).
Plants of short stature and short inflorescences, growing in the north, have been referred to as Calamagrostis stricta subsp. borealis (C. Laest.) Á. Löve & D. Love or C. stricta var. borealis (C. Laest.) Hartm. These intergrade with taller plants; they are not recognized here as a distinct taxonomic entity.
Calamagrostis stricta is sometimes confused with C. lapponica (see previous). In addition to the differences noted in the descriptions and key, the glumes of C. stricta are not as smooth and glossy, and are generally brown at the tip; those of C. lapponica are typically purple.
(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.)
1. Spikelets 3-4(5) mm long; callus hairs 2-4.5 mm long; rachilla prolongations 1-1.5 mm long; panicle branches 1.5-9.5 cm long; culms usually scabrous, sometimes smooth | subsp. inexpansa |
1. Spikelets 2-2.5(3) mm long; callus hairs 1-3 mm long; rachilla prolongations 0.5-1 mm long; panicle branches 1.4-4 cm long; culms usually smooth, sometimes slightly scabrous | subsp. stricta |
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- 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
