Hierochloe alpina (Sw. ex Willd.) Roem. & Schult.
alpine sweetgrass
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
alpine sweetgrass
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
Species Information
General:
Perennial, tufted grass from short rhizomes; stems erect, hollow, smooth, 15-40 cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths open, smooth; blades 1-3 mm wide, in-rolled or flat, smooth on the lower surfaces, hairy on the upper surfaces; ligules consisting of 1/2 basal membrane and 1/2 terminal fringe of hairs, about 0.6 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a contracted panicle, 1.5-4.5 (5.5) cm long; spikelets 3-flowered, including 2 sterile or male lower florets, tawny, short-stalked, 5-8 mm long; glumes about equal to the lemmas; lower 2 lemmas hairy, awned, the awns arising from fairly deeply bidentate tips, the awns of the lower sterile lemmas straight, 2-4 mm long, the awns of the upper sterile lemmas about 4-8 mm long, twisted, abruptly bent, arising at about midlength or below, the fertile lemmas hairy towards the tips, unawned; anthers about 1.2 mm long; lodicules narrowly egg-shaped to lanceolate, slightly jagged and lobed.
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
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry meadows and rocky slopes in the subalpine and alpine zones; common in N BC, rare S in the Coast Mountains to 52 degrees 45' N; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to SW AB, disjunct to ON, PQ and NF and S to ME, NH and NY; Greenland, Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Hierochlod alpina subsp. alpina
Hierochloe alpina subsp. alpina
Hierochloe odorata (L.) P. Beauv.
Savastana alpina (Sw. ex Willd.) Scribn.