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bog bluegrass, eastern bog bluegrass

Wasatch bluegrass

Habit Plants perennial; usually pale green; loosely tufted, slender, usually neither stoloniferous nor rhizomatous, occasionally with short, slender rhizomes. Plants perennial; loosely tufted or with solitary shoots, short-rhizomatous.
Culms

10-55 cm, very slender, weak.

(15)30-80 cm, erect or the bases decumbent, terete or weakly compressed;

nodes terete, 1-3 exserted.

Sheaths

closed for 1/4 - 3/5 their length, terete, smooth or sparsely scabrous, margins not ciliate;

ligules 0.5-2 mm, smooth or sparsely scabrous, truncate;

blades 0.8-2 mm wide, flat, thin, soft, apices narrowly prow-shaped.

closed for 1/2 - 9/10 their length, compressed, smooth, glabrous, bases of basal sheaths glabrous, distal sheath lengths 1-3 times blade lengths;

collars smooth, glabrous;

ligules 0.5-4 mm, smooth or sparsely scabrous, truncate to obtuse;

innovation blades similar to the cauline blades;

cauline blades 2-5 mm wide, flat, thin, smooth or sparsely scabrous mainly over the veins, apices broadly prow-shaped, middle and upper cauline blades subequal in length, flag leaf blades (2.5)4-7(11) cm long.

Basal branching

mostly extravaginal.

all or mostly extravaginal.

Panicles

3-8(12) cm, lax, open, sparse;

nodes with 1-2(3) branches;

branches (2)3-7 cm, spreading to reflexed, capillary, angled, angles scabrous.

(5)12-22 cm, usually narrowly pyramidal, open, sparse, with 20-70 spikelets, proximal internodes usually (3.5)4+ cm, with 2-3(4) branches per node;

branches 3-8 cm, spreading to eventually reflexed, terete or weakly angled, sparsely to moderately scabrous, with 3-12 spikelets.

Spikelets

3.2-5.2 mm, laterally compressed, broadly lanceolate to ovate;

florets 2-3(5);

rachilla internodes smooth, glabrous.

5-9 mm, lengths to 3.5 times widths, laterally compressed, not sexually dimorphic;

florets 2-6;

rachilla internodes smooth, glabrous, distal internodes 1+ mm.

Glumes

narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, thin, distinctly keeled, keels scabrous;

lower glumes 1-3-veined;

upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the adjacent lemmas;

calluses sparsely webbed;

lemmas 2.5-4 mm, lanceolate, green, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins short-villous, extending 2/3 – 4/5 the keel length, lateral veins fairly prominent, intercostal regions glabrous, apices obtuse to broadly acute, white, faintly bronze-colored or not;

palea keels scabrous;

anthers 0.2-0.8 mm.

lanceolate, distinctly keeled;

lower glumes 1-3-veined;

calluses glabrous;

lemmas 3-6.5 mm, lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins glabrous or short-villous to softly puberulent to 1/3 their length, lateral veins obscure, intercostal regions glabrous or sparsely hispidulous, rarely softly puberulent, smooth or sparsely finely scabrous, margins glabrous, apices acute;

palea keels scabrous, glabrous, intercostal regions glabrous;

anthers vestigial (0.1-0.2 mm) or (1.3)2-3.6 mm.

2n

= unknown.

= unknown.

Poa paludigena

Poa arnowiae

Distribution
from FNA
IA; IL; IN; MI; MN; NC; NJ; NY; OH; PA; VA; WI; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
ID; MT; UT; WY
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Poa paludigena is an inconspicuous species restricted to the northeastern United States. It grows in shady bogs and fens, often underneath other plants. Poa trivialis (p. 568) sometimes grows with P. paludigena; the former has distinctly longer ligules and anthers. Plants from the middle Appalachian Mountains are sometimes confused with P. sylvestris (p. 512). Poa paludigena is generally shorter and more slender, has shorter panicles with only 1-2 branches per node, is glabrous between the lemma veins and on the palea keels, has shorter anthers, and grows in colder habitats.

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

Poa arnowiae grows in openings within the coniferous forests of the mountain ranges in southeastern Idaho, northern Utah, and adjacent Wyoming. It is sequentially gynomonoecious.

Poa arnowiae used to be called Poa curta Rydb., but the type of P. curta belongs in P. wheeleri.

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

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 572. FNA vol. 24, p. 543.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Poa > subg. Poa > sect. Oreinos Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Poa > subg. Poa > sect. Madropoa > subsect. Poa
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. 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. 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. alpina, P. alsodes, P. ammophila, P. annua, P. arachnifera, P. arctica, P. arida, 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
Synonyms P. curta
Name authority Fernald & Wiegand Soreng
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