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Introduction
This perennial, rhizomatous species of grass is found only along the western coast of North America in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California (USDA 2011). In British Columbia, it is found in "Brackish tidal marshes, swamps, lakeshores, streamsides and wet meadows in the lowland zone" in coastal areas (Douglas et al. 2001). Lomer (2011) describes this species in BC and in the Fraser Valley: " A perennial grass from wet places in coastal BC. Known in the Fraser Valley from 6 sites in the Vancouver area, east to near Barnston Island, Surrey (UBC: Lomer 93-250). Elsewhere in BC it is widespread on the coast, but rarely encountered from the Queen Charlotte Islands south to Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Generally a microscope is needed to separate it from Glyceria borealis (Nash) Batch., G. fluitans (L.) R. Br., or G. x occidentalis (Piper) J.C. Nelson, all of which occur in the Fraser Valley". [Originally reprinted from Botanical Electronic News # 435, with permission.]
Species Information
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expanded illustration for this species.
General: Perennial grass from rhizomes; stems erect to decumbent, hollow, up to 60-100 (150) cm tall/long.
Leaves: Sheaths somewhat flattened, finely rough, closed for most of their length but open for 1 cm or more; blades 3-7 mm wide, flat or somewhat in-rolled when dry, minutely rough on both surfaces; ligules pointed, the margins irregularly jagged, more or less finely hairy to rough, 6-11 mm long.
Flowers: Inflorescence a loose panicle, up to 40 cm long, the few branches ascending to appressed; spikelets loosely 8- to 13- (15-) flowered, narrow, linear, nearly circular in cross-section, tapered to the tips, 12-18 mm long; glumes membranous, the lower ones 1.2-1.5 mm long, the upper ones nearly twice as long; lemmas prominently 7-nerved to the narrow, translucent upper margins, minutely rough between distinctly rough nerves, slightly over 3 mm long, the lowest ones 3-4 mm long; stamens 3; anthers slightly over 0.5 mm long.
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)
