Glyceria alnasteretum
Glyceria pulchella
Aleutian glyceria
beautiful glyceria, graceful mannagrass, Mackenzie Valley mannagrass, slender mannagrass
60-90 cm tall, 2.5-4 mm thick, erect.
40-60 cm tall, 1.5-5 mm thick, erect.
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.
scabridulous, not or weakly keeled;
ligules 1.5-4 mm;
blades 9-29 cm long, 2-7.5 mm wide, scabrous.
15-22 cm long, 12-16 cm wide, open, pyramidal, erect to nodding;
branches 8-10 cm, lower branches widely divergent to drooping.
15-25 cm long, 6-15(20) cm wide, open, pyramidal, nodding;
branches 8-12 cm, ascending to divergent, flexuous, often smooth, with 30-40+ spikelets;
pedicels 0.3-6 mm.
7-9 mm long, 3-4.5 mm wide, with 5-8 florets.
3.5-6 mm long, 1.4-2.5 mm wide, about 2.5 times longer than wide, laterally compressed, oval in side view, with 3-6 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.
unequal, lengths about 3 times widths, narrowing beyond midlength, veins terminating below the apices, apices acute, forming an angle of about 45°;
lower glumes 1.5-2 mm;
upper glumes 2-2.6 mm, erose;
rachilla internodes 0.4-0.6 mm;
lemmas 2.5-3.5 mm, oval in dorsal view, 7-veined, veins raised, scabridulous, apices broadly acute to obtuse, prow-shaped;
paleas from shorter than to equaling the lemmas, lengths 3-3.5 times widths, keels not winged, tips incurved, apices narrowly notched between the keels;
anthers 2, 0.5-0.9 mm.
not seen.
about 1 mm.
= 20.
= unknown.
Glyceria alnasteretum
Glyceria pulchella
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 pulchella grows in marshes, muskegs, ponds, and ditches, from central Alaska and the Northwest Territories to southern British Columbia and central Manitoba. In overall aspect, G. pulchella resembles G. striata and G. elata. It differs in having somewhat stiffer and straighter panicle branches, in addition to larger spikelets and florets.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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