Agrostis mertensii Trin.
northern bentgrass
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
northern bentgrass
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial, tufted grass from fibrous roots, some shoots non-flowering; stems 10-40 cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths smooth; blades 2.5-13 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, flat; ligules 1.5-3 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence broadly egg-shaped to lanceolate, usually open, loose or more or less constricted, 3-10 cm long, at least twice as long as wide, the branches more or less stiff, ascending or appressed, the lower branches to 4 cm long, branching above the middle, the spikelets sparse, borne mostly above the midpoints; spikelets usually 1.8-3 mm long; glumes 2.5-3.8 mm long; lemmas 1.6-2.6 mm long, the awns attached just below the middle from the back, 3-4 mm long, bent, the callus hairs to 0.2 mm long; paleas absent; anthers 0.5-0.8 mm long.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Agrostis mertensii
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) |
868 | 469 | 1260 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
23 | 0 | 60 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
187 | 90 | 300 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 5 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
10 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BWBS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BWBS(4), ICH(1), IDF(1), MS(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry meadows, streambanks, cliffs and scree slopes in the lowland to alpine zones; infrequent throughout BC; circumboreal, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to SC, TN, CO, UT and WA; Greenland, N Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Agrostis bakeri Rydb.
Agrostis borealis Hartm.
Agrostis borealis var. americana (Scribn.) Fernald
Agrostis borealis var. paludosa (Scribn.) Fernald
Agrostis idahoensis var. bakeri (Rydb.) W.A. Weber
Agrostis mertensii subsp. borealis (Hartman) Tzvelev
Agrostis rupestris auct. non All.