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bulbous blue grass

alpine blue grass

Habit Plants perennial; densely tufted, not rhizomatous, not stoloniferous. Plants perennial; not glaucous; densely cespitose, not rhizomatous, not stoloniferous.
Culms

15-60 cm, erect or spreading, bases bulbous.

10-40 cm.

Sheaths

closed for about 1/4 their length, terete, lowest sheaths with swollen bases;

ligules 1-3 mm, smooth or scabrous, apices obtuse to acute;

blades 1-2.5 mm wide, flat, thin, lax, soon withering.

Basal branching

intravaginal.

intravaginal.

Leaves

mostly basal;

sheaths closed for 1/8 – 2/7 their length, terete, basal sheaths persistent, overlapping, bases usually not swollen;

ligules of innovations 1-2(3) mm, those of the upper cauline leaves to 4(5) mm, milky white, smooth, glabrous, obtuse;

blades of innovations widely spreading, persisting through the season, blades of cauline leaves 1-5(12) cm long, 2-4.5 mm wide, flat, moderately thick, soft, straight, smooth or the margins sparsely scabrous, apices broadly prow-shaped, blades of upper cauline leaves much reduced in length.

Panicles

3-12 cm, ovoid;

nodes with 2-5 branches;

branches ascending to spreading, terete, usually smooth or sparsely scabrous, infrequently moderately scabrous.

2-6(8) cm, erect, ovoid to pyramidal, open or loosely contracted at maturity, fairly congested;

nodes with 1-2 branches, lowest internodes 0.6-1(1.5) cm;

branches 1-3(4) cm, ascending to spreading, straight, terete, usually smooth or sparsely scabrous, rarely moderately densely scabrous;

pedicels divaricate, shorter than the spikelets.

Spikelets

3-5 mm, laterally compressed, usually bulbiferous;

florets 3-7, the basal floret, and sometimes additional florets, normal;

rachilla internodes smooth, glabrous.

3.9-6.2 mm, ovate, lengths 1.5-2.5 times widths, laterally compressed, plump, sometimes bulbiferous;

florets 3-7, usually normal;

rachilla internodes 0.5-0.8 mm, smooth, glabrous or sparsely softly puberulent to short-villous.

Glumes

keeled, keels scabrous;

lower glumes 3-veined;

upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the lowest lemmas;

calluses webbed or glabrous;

lemmas 3-4 mm, lanceolate, keeled, glabrous or the keels and marginal veins short- to long-villous, intercostal regions glabrous or softly puberulent, apices acute;

paleas scabrous, keels often softly puberulent at midlength;

anthers 1.2-1.5 mm and functional, sometimes aborted late in development, sometimes not developed.

broadly lanceolate to narrowly ovate, keeled, keels sparsely scabrous;

lower glumes 3-veined;

upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the lowest lemmas;

calluses glabrous;

lemmas 3-5 mm, broadly lanceolate, keeled, keels and marginal veins short- to long-villous, lateral veins moderately prominent, intercostal regions sparsely to moderately short-villous, apices acute;

palea keels softly puberulent to short-villous over most of their length, apices scabrous;

anthers 1.3-2.3 mm.

2n

= 14, 21, 28, 39, 42, 45.

= 22, 23, 24,25, 26, 27, 28, 28+11, 30, 31, 32, 32+1, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40+1, 41, 42, ca. 43, 44, 46, ca. 48, 56.

Poa bulbosa

Poa alpina

Distribution
from FNA
AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CO; ID; MI; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Poa bulbosa is a European species that is now established in the Flora region. In southern Europe and the Middle East, it is considered an important early spring forage.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Poa alpina is a fairly common circumboreal forest species of subalpine to arctic habitats, extending south in the Rocky Mountains to Utah and Colorado in the west, and to the northern Great Lakes region in the east. It often grows in disturbed ground and is calciphilic. Poa xgaspensis (p. 601) is a natural hybrid which seems to be between P. alpina and P. pratensis subsp. alpigena (p. 525); it differs from P. alpina in its extravaginal branching, rhizomatous habit, and webbed calluses. The range of chromosome numbers suggests that P. alpina is predominantly apomictic.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Spikelets not bulbiferous
subsp. bulbosa
1. All or some spikelets bulbiferous
subsp. vivipara
1. Spikelets not bulbiferous
subsp. alpina
1. Some or all spikelets bulbiferous
subsp. vivipara
Source FNA vol. 24, p. 516. FNA vol. 24.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Poa > subg. Poa > sect. Arenariae Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Poa > subg. Poa > sect. Alpinae
Sibling taxa
P. abbreviata, P. alpina, P. alsodes, P. ammophila, P. annua, P. arachnifera, P. arctica, P. arida, P. arnowiae, P. atropurpurea, P. autumnalis, P. bigelovii, P. bolanderi, P. chaixii, P. chambersii, P. chapmaniana, P. compressa, P. confinis, P. curtifolia, P. cusickii, P. cuspidata, P. diaboli, P. douglasii, P. eminens, P. fendleriana, P. glauca, P. hartzii, P. howellii, P. infirma, P. interior, P. keckii, P. kelloggii, P. laxa, P. laxa × glauca, P. laxiflora, P. leibergii, P. leptocoma, P. lettermanii, P. macrantha, P. macrocalyx, P. marcida, P. napensis, P. nemoralis, P. nervosa, P. occidentalis, P. paludigena, P. palustris, P. paucispicula, P. piperi, P. porsildii, P. pratensis, P. pringlei, P. pseudoabbreviata, P. reflexa, P. rhizomata, P. saltuensis, P. secunda, P. sierrae, P. stebbinsii, P. stenantha, P. strictiramea, P. sublanata, P. suksdorfii, P. supina, P. sylvestris, P. tenerrima, P. tracyi, P. trivialis, P. unilateralis, P. wheeleri, P. wolfii, P. ×gaspensis, P. ×limosa, P. ×nematophylla
P. abbreviata, P. alsodes, P. ammophila, P. annua, P. arachnifera, P. arctica, P. arida, P. arnowiae, P. atropurpurea, P. autumnalis, P. bigelovii, P. bolanderi, P. bulbosa, P. chaixii, P. chambersii, P. chapmaniana, P. compressa, P. confinis, P. curtifolia, P. cusickii, P. cuspidata, P. diaboli, P. douglasii, P. eminens, P. fendleriana, P. glauca, P. hartzii, P. howellii, P. infirma, P. interior, P. keckii, P. kelloggii, P. laxa, P. laxa × glauca, P. laxiflora, P. leibergii, P. leptocoma, P. lettermanii, P. macrantha, P. macrocalyx, P. marcida, P. napensis, P. nemoralis, P. nervosa, P. occidentalis, P. paludigena, P. palustris, P. paucispicula, P. piperi, P. porsildii, P. pratensis, P. pringlei, P. pseudoabbreviata, P. reflexa, P. rhizomata, P. saltuensis, P. secunda, P. sierrae, P. stebbinsii, P. stenantha, P. strictiramea, P. sublanata, P. suksdorfii, P. supina, P. sylvestris, P. tenerrima, P. tracyi, P. trivialis, P. unilateralis, P. wheeleri, P. wolfii, P. ×gaspensis, P. ×limosa, P. ×nematophylla
Subordinate taxa
P. bulbosa subsp. bulbosa, P. bulbosa subsp. vivipara
P. alpina subsp. alpina, P. alpina subsp. vivipara
Name authority L. L.
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