Calamagrostis canadensis (Michx.) P. Beauv. var. canadensis
bluejoint reedgrass (bluejoint)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
bluejoint reedgrass (bluejoint)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
Map
Distribution of Calamagrostis canadensis var. canadensis
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend
Species Information
General:
Perennial grass from fibrous roots and rhizomes; stems 60-150 cm tall, smooth, with 3 to 8 nodes, often branching above.
Leaves:
Sheath summits smooth to strongly hairy; leaf blades lax, usually flat, rough on both surfaces, often glaucous above, 5-30 cm long, mostly 3-8 mm wide; ligules mostly 3-8 mm long, with jagged margins.
Flowers:
Inforescence an open, lax or sometimes narrow panicle 10-25 cm long, the longer branches 3-8 cm long, sparsely- to densely-flowered on the upper 1/2; spikelets 1-flowered; glumes usually purple-tinged, thin, translucent along the margins, sharp- to long-pointed, usually rough, often bristly on the keels; lemmas thin, 2.5-4.5 mm long, with delicate, straight awns attached just below the middle and extending to or just beyond the tips, the callus hairs copious, mostly of uniform length, about as long as the lemmas; paleas thin, 1/2 to almost as long as the lemmas; rachillas short, inconspicuous, sparsely bearded with long hairs.
Notes:
Two intergrading varieties are recognized in BC and delimitation of each is arbitrary. Variety langsdorfii also intergrades with C. lapponica. The two varieties may be separated as follows:
1. Glumes 3-4 mm long, inconspicuously rough and thin, the keels lacking bristlelike hairs, translucent on the margins; awns thin, not prominent.................... var. canadensis
1. Glumes 4-6 mm long, conspicuously rough, the keels with bristlelike hairs, usually not translucent on the margins; awns thick, more prominent.................. var. langsdorfii (Link) Inman
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Calamagrostis canadensis var. canadensis
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) |
1127 | 660 | 1700 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
11 | 0 | 63 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
239 | 5 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 1 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
87 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
SBS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BWBS(3), ESSF(31), ICH(3), IDF(3), MS(5), SBPS(5), SBS(33) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to wet bogs, marshes, meadows, clearings and open forests in the lowland to lower alpine zones; var. canadensis - common throughout BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, rare in coastal BC; var. langsdorfii - common in N BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, less frequent southward; circumboreal, N to AK, YT, NT, E to NF and S to ME, MA, NY, NC, TN, MO, KS, NM, AZ and CA; Eurasia.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Calamagrostis anomala Suksd.
Calamagrostis atropurpurea Nash
Calamagrostis canadensis subsp. canadensis
Calamagrostis canadensis subsp. canadensis
Calamagrostis canadensis var. imberbis (Stebbins) C.L. Hitchc.
Calamagrostis canadensis var. pallida (Vasey & Scribn.) Stebbins
Calamagrostis canadensis var. robusta Vasey
Calamagrostis canadensis var. typica Stebbins
Calamagrostis expansa var. robusta (Vasey) Stebbins
Calamagrostis hyperborea Lange
Calamagrostis inexpansa var. cuprea Kearney
Calamagrostis inexpansa var. robusta (Vasey) Stebbins
Calamagrostis pallida
Calamagrostis scribneri Beal