Relatives

Calamagrostis langsdorffii (Link) Trin. - Langsdorff.s Small-reed.

Taxonomic position.

Family Poaceae Barnhart, genus Calamagrostis Adans.

Synonyms.

C. purpurea subsp. langsdorffii (Link) Tzvelev, C. canadensis subsp. langsdorffii (Link) Hulten, C. grandis V.Petrov, C. confusa V.Vassil., C. yendoana Honda, Arundo langsdorffii Link.

Morphology and biology.

Rhizomes creeping. Stems up to 150 cm tall, with 4-6 distant nodes, glabrous and smooth under inflorescence, usually branched in lower and middle nodes. Leaves 4-10 mm wide, flat, usually intensely divergent from stem, above with greyish tinge, glabrous and scabrous, rarely with sparse long hairs. Ligules of upper leaves 5-10 mm long. Panicles lax, with scabrous branches bearing numerous spikelets. Spikelets 3.5-6 mm long, greyish-green or dull reddish. Glumes oblong-lanceolate, covered with numerous and relatively long spinules. Lemma slightly shorter than glumes, callus with hairs equal or subequal to lemma in lengh, lemma back with thin awn 2-3 mm long arising near the lemma middle or slightly lower and not exceeding lemma apex. Rudimentary rachilla 0.2-0.7 mm long. Apomict. 2n=28, 42, 56, 70.

Distribution.

Northern European Russia, Siberia, Far East, southeastern Central Asia.

Ecology.

In damp and wet valley meadows, among shrubberies, in forest fringes and burned areas, at watersides.

Use and economic value.

Forage grass of good quality if used before flowering and roughening.

References:

Tolmachev AI., ed. 1964. Arctic Flora of the USSR. V.2. Gramineae. Moscow; Leningrad: Nauka. 273 p. (In Russian).
Kovalevskaya SS., ed. 1968. Manual of plants of Middle Asia. V.1. Tashkent. 226 p. (In Russian).
Kharkevich SS., ed. 1985. Vascular plants of the Soviet Far East. V.1. Leningrad: Nauka. 398 p. (In Russian).
Fedorov AA., ed. 1974. Flora of the European part of the USSR. V.1. Leningrad: Nauka. 404 p. (In Russian).
Rozhevits RYu., Shishkin BK., eds. 1934. Flora URSS. V.2. 778 p. (In Russian).
Malyshev LI., Peshkova GA., eds. 1990. Flora of Siberia. V.4. Poaceae (Gramineae). Novosibirsk: Nauka. 361 p. (In Russian).
Malyshev LI., Peshkova GA., eds. 1979. Flora of the Central Siberia. V.1. 536 p. (In Russian).
Tzvelev NN. 1976. Grasses of the Soviet Union. Leningrad: Nauka. 788 p. (In Russian).

© N.I.Dzyubenko, E.A.Dzyubenko

© Photo by N.I.Dzyubenko
 

Web design —
Kelnik studios