Calamagrostis stricta (Timm) Koeler subsp. stricta
slimstem reedgrass
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
slimstem reedgrass
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
Map
Distribution of Calamagrostis stricta subsp. stricta
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend
Species Information
General:
Perennial, loosely tufted, fine to coarse, slender to robust grass from fibrous roots and rhizomes; stems unbranched, 20-120 cm tall, with 2 to 4 nodes.
Leaves:
Sheath summits smooth or rarely with tufts of hair; leaf blades often in-rolled or stiff and flat, 2-6 mm wide, 5-30 cm long, smooth to rough or glaucous above, smooth or rough below; ligules 1-5.5 mm long, entire or with jagged margins at the tips.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a stiff, erect, congested panicle 5-20 cm long, the longer branches 1.5-5 cm long, spikelet-bearing for over 1/2 their length; spikelets 2-4.5 cm long, 1-flowered; glumes 2-6 mm long, subequal, thin and smooth or thick and opaque, smooth to rough short-hairy, inconspicuously rough on the keels, occasionally translucent on the margins, sometimes purple-tinged; lemmas 2-5 mm long, notched or 4-toothed at the tips, finely rough, bearing stout to slender, straight or sometimes twisted and bent awns attached 1/3-1/2 above the base of the lemmas and extending about to the tips of the glumes or slightly beyond, sometimes shorter than the glumes, the callus hairs of varying length, up to 1/2 to 3/4 as long as the florets; paleas 1/2 to almost as long as the lemmas, thin, usually translucent, sometimes inconspicuously rough short-hairy along the nerves; rachillas about 1 mm long, bearded with hairs as long as those of the calluses; anthers either normally or poorly developed, then sterile and remaining closed at maturity.
Notes:
Two subspecies occur in BC. The ssp. inexpansa includes many apomictic forms and intergrades with the ssp. stricta. Coastal forms of ssp. inexpansa with hard, stiff glumes have been separated as C. crassiglumis, but these seem to be forms that are capable of reproducing asexually part of the time and easily fall within this morphologically variable species. The subspecies may be separated as follows:
1. Glumes thick, often opaque, 3-6 mm long; blades 3-6 mm wide, flat, rough above, usually somewhat rough below; ligules 3-6 mm long, often with jagged margins....................ssp. inexpansa (A. Gray) C.W. Greene
1. Glumes thin, 2-4.5 mm long; blades 2-4 mm wide, often in-rolled, smooth to rough above, usually smooth below; ligules 1-3 mm long, usually entire....................ssp. stricta
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 from Spring to Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Calamagrostis stricta ssp. stricta
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) |
1141 | 960 | 1250 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
1 | 0 | 20 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
65 | 0 | 130 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 4 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
12 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
SBPS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
IDF(1), SBPS(10), SWB(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to wet meadows, gravel bars, fens, marshes, lakeshores and open forests in the montane to alpine zones; ssp. inexpansa - common in BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, infrequent in coastal BC; ssp. stricta - frequent in N BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, rare in SC and SE BC; ssp. inexpansa - amphiberingian, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to ME, NH, NY, OH, IN, NE, NM, AZ and CA; NE Asia; ssp. stricta - circumboreal, N to AK, YT and NT, E to Labr. and S to NH, MI and CO; Eurasia.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Calamagrostis borealis Laest.
Calamagrostis neglecta (Ehrh.) G. Gaertn., B. Mey. & Scherb. ssp. borealis (Laest.) Seland.
Calamagrostis neglecta (Ehrh.) G. Gaertn., B. Mey. & Scherb. var. borealis (Laest.) Kearney
Calamagrostis neglecta (Ehrh.) G. Gaertn., B. Mey. & Scherb.
Calamagrostis neglecta (Ehrh.) G. Gaertn., B. Mey. & Scherb. ssp. stricta (Timm) Tzvelev
Calamagrostis neglecta (Ehrh.) G. Gaertn., B. Mey. & Scherb. var. gracilis (Scribn.) Scribn.
Calamagrostis neglecta (Ehrh.) G. Gaertn., B. Mey. & Scherb. var. micrantha (Kearney) Stebbins
Calamagrostis stricta var. stricta