Agrostis idahoensis Nash
Idaho bentgrass
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Idaho bentgrass
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
Species Information
General:
Perennial grass from fibrous roots, with scattered shoots; stems 12-35 cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths smooth; blades 1-5 cm long, 0.5-2 mm wide, flat, becoming in-rolled; ligules 1-3 mm long, slightly rough on the outside.
Flowers:
Inflorescence open, lanceolate to broadly egg-shaped, at least twice as long as wide, 3-10 (13) cm long, the branches spreading to ascending, the lower ones 1-4 cm long; spikelets broadly separated, sparse; glumes 1.5-2.5 mm long; lemmas 1.2-2 mm long, awnless, the callus hairs to 0.3 mm long; paleas absent or if present, as thin membranes less than 1/4 as long as the lemmas; anthers 0.3-0.5 mm long.
Notes:
This species is often confused with the larger-panicled A. scabra and the awned A. mertensii.
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
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Agrostis idahoensis
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) |
1199 | 1000 | 1476 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
9 | 0 | 23 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
354 | 18 | 270 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
5 | 2 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
6 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
MH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
ESSF(1), IDF(1), MH(2), SWB(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Edges of bog pools, wet meadows, fens and seepage areas in the subalpine and alpine zones, occasionally in ditches and wet sites in the montane zone; infrequent on Vancouver Island, the adjacent mainland and north in the Coast Mountains; N to AK, E to AB and S to NM, AZ and CA.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 borealis var. recta (Hartm.) B. Boivin
Agrostis clavata Trin.
Agrostis filicumis M.E. Jones
Agrostis idahoensis var. bakeri (Rydb.) W.A. Weber
Agrostis mertensii subsp. borealis (Hartm.) Tzvelev
Agrostis rupestris auct. non All.