Poa compressa |
Poa suksdorfii |
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Canada blue grass, Canadian blue grass, flat-stem blue grass |
Suksdorf's bluegrass, western blue grass |
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Habit | Plants perennial; usually with solitary shoots, sometimes loosely tufted, extensively rhizomatous. | Plants perennial; not glaucous; densely tufted, not stoloniferous, not rhizomatous. |
Culms | 15-60 cm, wiry, bases usually geniculate, strongly compressed; nodes strongly compressed, some proximal nodes usually exserted. |
7-25 cm. |
Sheaths | closed for 1/10 – 1/5 their length, distinctly compressed, bases of basal sheaths glabrous; ligules 1-3 mm, moderately to densely scabrous, ciliolate, apices obtuse; blades 1.5-4 mm wide, flat, cauline blades subequal. |
closed for 1/7-1/4(1/3) their length, terete; ligules of cauline leaves 1-3 mm, milky white, usually densely scabrous, sometimes smooth, ligules of the upper innovation leaves 0.5-2.5 mm; innovation blades adaxially scabrous, hispidulous, or puberulent on and between the veins, lacking papillae on the long cells (at 100x); cauline blades folded to involute, moderately thick, soft or moderately firm, apices narrowly prow-shaped, flag leaf blades 1-2 mm wide, adaxial surfaces with 5-9 well-spaced ribs. |
Basal branching | all or mainly intravaginal. |
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Panicles | 2-10 cm, generally 1/6 - 1/3 as wide as long, erect, linear, lanceoloid to ovoid, often interrupted, sparse to congested, with 15-80 spikelets and mostly with 1-3 branches per node; branches 0.5-3 cm, erect to ascending, or infrequently spreading, angles densely scabrous, at least in part, with 1-15 spikelets. |
3-6 cm, erect, narrowly lanceoloid, contracted, moderately congested; nodes with 1-2 branches; branches to 1.5 cm, erect, slender, terete, sulcate or angled, smooth or the angles moderately scabrous; pedicels shorter than the spikelets. |
Spikelets | (2.3)3.5-7 mm, laterally compressed; florets 3-7; rachilla internodes usually shorter than 1 mm, smooth to muriculate. |
4.2-7 mm, laterally compressed, often strongly anthocyanic; florets 2-4; rachilla internodes 1-1.5 mm, smooth, sometimes sparsely hispidulous. |
Glumes | distinctly keeled; lower glumes 3-veined; calluses usually webbed, sometimes glabrous; lemmas 2.3-3.5 mm, lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins short-villous, intercostal regions glabrous, lateral veins obscure, margins glabrous, apices acute; paleas scabrous over the keels; anthers 1.3-1.8 mm. |
lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels smooth; lower glumes shorter than to equaling the lowest lemmas, 3-veined; upper glumes frequently exceeding the lowest lemmas, 3-5-veined, exceeded by the upper lemmas; calluses glabrous; lemmas 4.1-5.8 mm, narrowly lanceolate, distinctly keeled, thin, glabrous, apices acute; palea keels scabrous; anthers 0.8-1.2(1.7) mm, infrequently aborted late in development. |
2n | = 35, 42, 49, 50, 56, 84. |
= unknown. |
Poa compressa |
Poa suksdorfii |
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Distribution |
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; HI; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT
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OR; WA; BC
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Discussion | Poa compressa is common in much of the Flora region. It is sometimes considered to be native, but this seems doubtful. It is rare and thought to be introduced in Siberia and only local in the Russian Far East, but is common in Europe. In the Flora region, it is often seeded for soil stabilization, and has frequently escaped. It grows mainly in riparian areas, wet meadows, and disturbed ground. Its distinctly compressed nodes and culms, exserted lower culm nodes, rhizomatous growth habit, and scabrous panicle branches make it easily identifiable. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Poa suksdorfii is a high alpine species of open rocky ground in the Pacific Northwest. It used to be interpreted (Hitchcock 1951) as including California populations that are now placed in Poa pringlei (p. 564) or P. keckii (see previous). Poa suksdorfii has narrow panicles like P. pringlei and P. curtifolia (p. 589). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 24, p. 579. | FNA vol. 24, p. 584. |
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Poa > subg. Poa > sect. Tichopoa | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Poa > subg. Poa > sect. Abbreviatae |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | L. | (Beal) Vasey ex Piper |
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