Achnatherum nelsonii (Scribn.) Barkworth
Columbia Needle Grass (Columbia needlegrass)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Columbia Needle Grass (Columbia needlegrass)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Species Information
General:
Perennial tufted grass from fibrous roots; stems 40-175 cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths open, smooth to densely hairy, the margins sometimes with a fringe of hairs; blades (0.5) 1.2-5 mm wide; lower ligules 0.2-0.7 mm long, thin and flexible, blunt to rounded, usually without hairs along the margins; upper ligules up to 1.5 mm long, pointed.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a narrow panicle, 9-36 cm long, the branches straight, appressed to ascending, the spikelets appressed to the branches; florets not flattened; glumes 6-12.5 mm long, smooth; lemmas 6-7.5 mm long, smooth above, short-hairy below, the hairs 0.2-0.5 mm long, the tips minutely lobed, membranous, 0.1-0.4 mm long, awned, the awns 19-31 mm long, the first segments rough or short-hairy, persistent; paleas 2-4 mm long, 1/3-1/2 as long as the lemmas, the calluses 0.2-1 mm long, blunt, the smooth areas barely extending beyond the base of the callus hairs.
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Achnatherum nelsonii
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1085 | 529 | 2246 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
19 | 0 | 115 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
201 | 0 | 345 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 0 | 5 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
210 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(1), ESSF(15), ICH(7), IDF(122), MS(24), PP(37) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry rocky slopes and open forests from the lowland to subalpine zones; frequent in NE, WC, SC and SE BC; N to YT, E to SK and S to TX, NM, AZ and CA.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Stipa nelsonii