Poa reflexa |
Poa paludigena |
|
---|---|---|
nodding bluegrass |
bog bluegrass, eastern bog bluegrass |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, short-lived; densely tufted, tuft bases narrow or not, not stoloniferous, not rhizomatous. | Plants perennial; usually pale green; loosely tufted, slender, usually neither stoloniferous nor rhizomatous, occasionally with short, slender rhizomes. |
Culms | 10-60 cm. |
10-55 cm, very slender, weak. |
Sheaths | closed for 1/3 – 2/3 their length, terete, smooth; ligules 1.5-3.5 mm, smooth or sparsely scabrous; blades 1.5-4 mm wide, flat, thin, soft, apices broadly prow-shaped. |
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. |
Basal branching | mixed intra- and extravaginal. |
mostly extravaginal. |
Panicles | 4-15 cm, nodding, open, with numerous spikelets and 1-2 branches per node; branches (2)3-7 cm, spreading to reflexed, lower branches usually reflexed, flexuous, usually terete, smooth or sparsely scabrous, with (3)6-18 spikelets. |
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. |
Spikelets | 4-6 mm, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, usually partly to wholly purplish, with 3-5 florets; rachilla internodes shorter than 1 mm, smooth. |
3.2-5.2 mm, laterally compressed, broadly lanceolate to ovate; florets 2-3(5); rachilla internodes smooth, glabrous. |
Glumes | narrowly to broadly lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels smooth or nearly so; lower glumes 1-veined; upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the lowest lemmas; calluses webbed; lemmas 2-3.5 mm, lanceolate, partly purple to fairly strongly purple, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins short- to long-villous, keels hairy for 2h-ls their length, lateral veins usually sparsely softly puberulent at least on 1 side, lateral veins obscure to moderately prominent, intercostal regions smooth, minutely bumpy, glabrous, apices acute, slightly bronze-colored or not; palea keels scabrous, usually softly puberulent at midlength; anthers 0.6-1 mm. |
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. |
2n | = 28. |
= unknown. |
Poa reflexa |
Poa paludigena |
|
Distribution |
AZ; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY
|
IA; IL; IN; MI; MN; NC; NJ; NY; OH; PA; VA; WI; WV
|
Discussion | Poa reflexa grows in subalpine forests, meadows, and low alpine habitats, primarily in the central and southern Rocky Mountains. It usually grows on drier and more disturbed sites, and appears shorter-lived, than the frequently sympatric or parapatric P. leptocoma (p. 573), from which it differs in usually having hairs on the palea keels and lateral veins of the lemmas, and smooth panicle branches. In addition, P. reflexa is tetraploid, whereas P. leptocoma is hexaploid. Poa reflexa may resemble small plants of P. occidentalis (see previous) in habit. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 24, p. 538. | FNA vol. 24, p. 572. |
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Poa > subg. Poa > sect. Homalopoa | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Poa > subg. Poa > sect. Oreinos |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Vasey & Scribn. | Fernald & Wiegand |
Web links |