Poa howellii |
Poa wolfii |
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Howell's blue grass |
Wolf's bluegrass |
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Habit | Plants usually annual, rarely longer-lived; densely tufted, tuft bases narrow; not stoloniferous, not rhizomatous. | Plants perennial; not rhizomatous, not stoloniferous, loosely tufted. |
Culms | (10) 25-80(120) cm tall, 0.4-1.75 mm thick, usually erect; nodes terete, usually 1-2 exserted. |
25-90 cm. |
Sheaths | closed for 1/2 - 7/8 their length, usually weakly compressed and keeled, usually scabrous, rarely smooth; ligules 1.5-5(10) mm, smooth or scabrous, acute; blades 1-7(10) mm wide, flat, lax, soft, finely scabrous, apices narrowly prow-shaped, cauline blades 2-10 cm. |
closed for 1/2 - 3/4 their length, smooth or sparsely scabrous, margins not ciliate; ligules 0.3-2.1 mm, smooth or sparsely scabrous, truncate to obtuse, ciliolate; blades 0.6-3.5 mm wide, flat. |
Basal branching | intravaginal. |
mainly pseudointravaginal. |
Panicles | 10-25(30) cm, erect, eventually open, with (1)3-5(7) branches per node; branches eventually spreading or reflexed, fairly straight, angled, angles usually moderately to densely scabrous, rarely sparsely scabrous. |
7.5-15(18) cm, lax, pyramidal, open, sparse; nodes with 1-3(5) branches; branches 3-8 cm, ascending, straight to spreading, angled, angles prominent, scabrous. |
Spikelets | (2)4-6 mm, laterally compressed, with 2-5 florets; rachilla internodes about 1 mm, smooth, usually softly puberulent, infrequently glabrous. |
4-6.5 mm, laterally compressed; florets 2-5; rachilla internodes to 1 mm, smooth, glabrous. |
Glumes | slightly unequal, lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels and sometimes the lateral veins sparsely to moderately scabrous; lower glumes 1-3-veined; upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the lowest lemmas; calluses of some or all florets sparsely webbed; lemmas 2.5-3.5 mm, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, distinctly keeled, crisply puberulent proximally, hairs evenly distributed, finely scabrous distally, lateral veins obscure to prominent, margins narrowly hyaline, glabrous, apices narrowly acute, infrequently anthocyanic; palea keels sparsely scabrous, glabrous or softly puberulent at midlength, intercostal regions usually softly puberulent; anthers 3, 0.2-1 mm. |
1/2-1/3 the length of the adjacent lemmas, distinctly keeled, keels scabrous; lower glumes subulate to narrowly lanceolate, (1)3-veined; upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the lowest lemmas; calluses webbed; lemmas (2.5)3.2-4.7 mm, lanceolate, green, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins long-villous, hairs extending up almost the whole keel length, lateral veins prominent, intercostal regions smooth, minutely bumpy, usually glabrous, rarely sparsely softly puberulent, apices acute, blunt, or pointed, white, not bronze; palea keels softly puberulent at midlength, apices scabrous; anthers (0.5)0.8-1.2(1.5) mm. |
2n | = unknown. |
= 28. |
Poa howellii |
Poa wolfii |
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Distribution |
CA; OR; WA; BC
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AR; IA; IL; IN; MN; MO; OH; VA; WI
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Discussion | Poa howellii grows primarily on rocky banks and wooded slopes, from the coastal ranges of southern British Columbia to southern California. It differs from P. bolanderi (see above) in having puberulent, rather than smooth or scabrous, lemmas, and in growing at lower elevations, mostly from near sea level to 1000 m. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Poa wolfii is an uncommon species that grows in boggy areas of eastern deciduous forests, primarily west of the Appalachian divide. It differs from P. sylvestris (p. 512) in having fewer branches, larger spikelets, and lemmas that are usually glabrous between the veins. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 24, p. 534. | FNA vol. 24, p. 514. |
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Poa > subg. Poa > sect. Homalopoa | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Poa > subg. Poa > sect. Sylvestres |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. bolanderi var. howellii | |
Name authority | Vasey & Scribn. | Scribn. |
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