Glyceria alnasteretum
Glyceria declinata
Aleutian glyceria
low glyceria, low manna grass, waxy mannagrass
60-90 cm tall, 2.5-4 mm thick, erect.
(10)20-92 cm tall, 1.5-2.5 mm thick, ascending to erect from a decumbent, branching base.
smooth, not keeled;
ligules 2-3 mm, rounded to truncate;
blades 5-20 cm long, 3-7 mm wide, abaxial surfaces smooth, adaxial surfaces scabrous, apices acute.
glabrous, keeled;
ligules 4-9 mm;
blades (2)3-12 cm long, 4-8 mm wide, adaxial surfaces not papillose, apices abruptly acute.
15-22 cm long, 12-16 cm wide, open, pyramidal, erect to nodding;
branches 8-10 cm, lower branches widely divergent to drooping.
6-30 cm long, 1-2.5 cm wide;
branches 1.5-9.5 cm, ascending, with 1-5 spikelets;
pedicels 1-2.5 mm.
7-9 mm long, 3-4.5 mm wide, with 5-8 florets.
11-24 mm long, 1.3-3 mm wide, cylindrical and terete, except slightly laterally compressed at anthesis, rectangular in side view, with 8-15 florets.
unequal, lanceolate, acute;
lower glumes 2-3.5 mm;
upper glumes 2.5-3.5 mm, longer than wide;
lemmas 3-5.5 mm, 7-veined, obtuse to acute;
paleas shorter than or subequal to the lemmas, keels not winged, apices not strongly incurved, emarginate between the keels;
anthers 3, 0.7-1.2 mm.
oval;
lower glumes 1.4-3.5 mm;
upper glumes 2.5-4.9 mm;
rachilla internodes 1.2-1.8 mm;
lemmas (3.5)4-6 mm, 7-veined, veins and intercostal regions scabridulous, prickles about 0.05 mm, midveins extending to within 0.1 mm of the apical margins, apices acute, with a well-developed lobe on one or both sides opposite the lateral veins, entire to crenulate between the lateral lobes;
paleas exceeding the lemmas by 0.2-1(1.5) mm, keels winged, apices bifid, teeth 0.3-0.5 mm;
anthers 0.5-1.4 mm, usually purple.
not seen.
1.8-2.5 mm.
= 20.
= 20.
Glyceria alnasteretum
Glyceria declinata
Glyceria alnasteretum is included in this treatment with some hesitation, based on van Schaack 724 (W'l'LJ 152646) and van Schaack 887 (MO 1710727), both collected at Signal Point, Attu Island, Alaska in 1945. The above description is based on Komarov (1963) and Koyama (1987), modified to reflect the wider panicles and longer glumes and lemmas of the van Schaack specimens. The difference in habitat is troubling. The van Schaack specimens were found "in a beachside meadow" and "near beach." Koyama describes the habitat of G. alnasteretum as "wet meadows and marshes at high altitudes as well as subarctic zone" (p. 114). Nevertheless, the van Schaack specimens fit the description of G. alnasteretum better than any other taxon in this treatment. Clearly, further investigation is called for; it should include plants from both sides of the Bering Strait.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Glyceria declinata is a European species that is established on the western seaboard of North America from southern British Columbia to southern California, and in northeastern Nevada, Arizona, the lower portion of the Mississippi valley, and on Long Island, New York. In Europe, it grows in low-calcium, acidic soils and tolerates drier conditions than other European species of Glyceria (Conert 1992). In Denmark, it tends to grow in areas that are highly trampled (Niels Jacobsen and Signe Frederiksen, pers. comm.). It is invading vernal pools in California.
In western North America, G. declinata has been confused with G. xoccidentalis. The most reliable distinguishing characteristics are the lateral lemma lobes of G. declinata and its rather short, straight panicle branches. The two species also differ in their ploidy level, G. declinata being diploid and G. xoccidentalis tetraploid (Church 1949). This is reflected in the length of their guard cells, those of G. declinata being 0.2-0.3 um and those of G. xoccidentalis being 0.4-0.5 um.
S.F. Hrusa found plants (Hrusa 13681, 15858, 16267; specimens in CDA) that have an annual growth habit. Apart from this, they fit within the circumscription of G. declinata, except that two of the three specimens have narrower (2-3 mm) leaves than normal; they were also collected relatively early in the season. For now, it seems best to include the plants in G. declinata pending a better understanding of their relationship to perennial members of the species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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