Calamagrostis stricta
Calamagrostis stricta subsp. inexpansa
narrow hairgrass, narrowspike reedgrass, neglected reed grass, slim-stem reed grass, slipstem reed grass
calamagrostide contractee, narrow-spike reedgrass, northern reedgrass, northern slimstem reedgrass, slimstem reedgrass, Thurber's reed grass
(10)35-90(120) cm, usually unbranched, smooth to slightly scabrous;
nodes 1-3(4).
(29) 35-75(120) cm, usually scabrous, sometimes smooth.
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 usually smooth, collars sometimes scabrous, rarely pubescent;
ligules (0.5)2-5.5(6) mm;
blades (5)11-24(34) cm long, (1.5)2-5(6) mm wide, flat, usually stiff, sometimes puberulent.
(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.
(6)8-11(29) cm long, (0.8)1-2(2.8) cm wide, pale green, sometimes purple-tinged;
branches (1.5)1.6-5(9.5) cm, spikelet-bearing to the base.
2-4(5) mm;
rachilla prolongations 0.5-1.5 mm, hairs 1.5-3 mm.
3-4(5) mm;
rachilla prolongations 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.
broadly keeled or rounded;
callus hairs (2)2.5-3(4.5) mm, (0.5)0.7-0.9(1.3) times as long as the lemmas;
lemmas 2.5-3.5(5) mm, 0.1-1(1.4) mm shorter than the glumes;
awns 2-2.5 mm, attached to the lower 1/10 – 2/5 of the lemmas, rarely beyond the midpoint, straight or somewhat to strongly bent;
anthers (0.9)1.5-1.8(2.4) mm, often poorly developed, sterile and indehiscent.
= 28, 56, 58, 70, 84-±120.
Calamagrostis stricta
Calamagrostis stricta subsp. inexpansa
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 stricta subsp. inexpansa differs from subsp. stricta in its more robust growth and coarser habit. In North America, it extends from Alaska to Labrador and Newfoundland and south to California, Arizona, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio, and New York. It also grows in northeastern Asia. This subspecies usually grows in moist meadows, sphagnum bogs, and grasslands associated with rivers and streams, and less frequently on grassy slopes, in open woods, and beside sand dunes. It is noted to grow at the edge of, rather than in, wetlands.
Plants of the Athabasca sand dunes in northern Saskatchewan, and similar habitats in northeast Alberta, have unusually long inflorescences and inflorescence branches.
A taxon with glumes that are thick and rounded at the base, rather than keeled, has been separated out as Calamagrostis crassiglumis Thurb., with a distribution along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to California. We have examined many such specimens, including the isotype, an unusually short specimen, at 15 cm tall, from a "sphagnum swamp". As far as the two character states described above are concerned, the specimens do not appear to be distinct from other individuals of C. stricta subsp. inexpansa. The specimens do differ in other characters from typical C. stricta subsp. inexpansa in that C. crassiglumis is generally shorter, and the culm leaves may diverge from the stem at a greater angle and be broader. Further investigation is warranted.
(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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