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• Poaceae Group 7
• Calamagrostis
• Calamagrostis pickeringii

Calamagrostis pickeringii — Pickering's reed grass

Facts

Pickering's reed grass is endemic to a small area of northeastern North America, including portions of New England, where it is a very rare plant of bogs, gravel river shores, shores of small ponds, usually at higher elevations, and peaty meadows.

Habitat

Alpine or subalpine zones, bogs, meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther length

  1.3–2.9 mm

  Anther number

  3

  Awn on glume

  the glume has no awn

  Floret lower bract texture

  the lemma is thin and flexible

  Floret number

  1

  Floret types within spikelet

  all the florets within a spikelet are similar

  Glume relative length

  one or both glumes are as long or longer than all of the florets

  Glume veins

  • 1
  • 3

  Inflorescence arrangement

  the spikelets are uniform

  Inflorescence axis orientation

  the inflorescence axis is straight

  Inflorescence branches

  the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence

  Inflorescence length

  3.5–15 mm

  Inflorescence type (general)

  the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches

  Inflorescence type (specific)

  the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes

  Inforescence position

  the spikelets are mainly carried at the end of the stem

  Lemma awn base

  the awn is attached at the upper half of the lemma

  Lemma awn coiled

  the lemma awn is straight or twisted, but not coiled one half turn

  Lemma awn length

  4.5–9 mm

  Lemma awn number

  the lemma has one awn on it

  Lemma awn orientation

  the awn of the lemma is straight

  Lemma base hairs

  the lemma has hairs at the base

  Lemma cross-section

  the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint

  Lemma surface

  the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)

  Lemma tip

  the lemma tip is split into two or more points

  Lemma vein number

  5

  One or more florets

  there is one floret per spikelet

  Palea relative length

  palea is one half to fully as long as lemma

  Spikelet axis tip

  there is an extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet

  Spikelet length

  2.5–4.5 mm

  Spikelets spiny

  the spikelets do not appear spiny

  Upper glume shape

  the upper glume is widest at or below the middle

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

• Leaves

  Leaf auricles

  the leaves do not have auricles

  Leaf blade width

  2–7 mm

  Leaf ligule length

  2–5 mm

  Leaf ligule type

  the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane

  Leaf sheath closed around stem

  the margins of the leaf sheath are overlapping and not fused together except in the basal half (or less)

  Leaf sheath hair type

  there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

  Leaf sheath hairs

  there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

• Place

  Habitat

  • terrestrial
  • wetlands

  New England state

  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • alpine or subalpine zones
  • bogs
  • meadows or fields
  • shores of rivers or lakes

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Stem spacing

  • the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts
  • the stems grow singly or a few together (they may form diffuse colonies)

Wetland status

Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae