Calamagrostis stricta
Calamagrostis rubescens
narrow hairgrass, narrowspike reedgrass, neglected reed grass, slim-stem reed grass, slipstem reed grass
pine reed grass, pinegrass
(10)35-90(120) cm, usually unbranched, smooth to slightly scabrous;
nodes 1-3(4).
(50)60-100(105) cm, unbranched, usually smooth, rarely slightly scabrous beneath the panicles;
nodes (1)2-3(4).
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.
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.
(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.
(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.
2-4(5) mm;
rachilla prolongations 0.5-1.5 mm, hairs 1.5-3 mm.
(3)4-4.5(5.5) mm;
rachilla prolongations 0.6-1.5(2) mm, hairs 1.2-2 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.
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.
= 28, 42, 56.
Calamagrostis stricta
Calamagrostis rubescens
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 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.)
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
