E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Arrhenatherum elatius (L.) P. Beauv. ex J. Presl & C. Presl
tall oatgrass (false oatgrass)
Poaceae (Grass family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Adolf Ceska  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #13636)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Arrhenatherum elatius
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Species Information

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General:
Perennial, tufted grass from fibrous roots; stems erect, hollow, sometimes hairy at the nodes, the base frequently enlarged and bulblike, often rooting at the first few nodes, but not truly rhizomatous, mostly 80-150 cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths open, usually smooth, sometimes rough; blades flat, 4-8 (10) mm wide, 7-25 cm long, rough and often soft-hairy; ligules 1-2 (3) mm long, membranous, the margins jagged and fringed with small hairs, finely short-hairy, blunt.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a narrow, shining panicle, 10-30 cm long; glumes awnless, the lower glumes mostly 5-7 mm long, the upper ones 7-10 mm long; lemmas 5- to 7-nerved, hairy on the callus, awn of the lower lemmas 10-20 mm long, those of the upper lemmas 4-6 (15) mm long or rarely lacking; paleas about equalling the lemmas; anthers about 4 mm long; lodicules 2.5-3.5 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Early Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source:  The USDA

Habitat / Range

Mesic to dry meadows, rock outcrops, fields and disturbed sites in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; frequent in SW BC, rare in SC BC; introduced from Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Arrhenatherum elatius

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

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 30 30 30
Slope Gradient (%) 0 0 0
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
0
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
6 6 6
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
1
Modal BEC Zone Class
CDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: CDF(1)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References