Calamagrostis
Encyclopedia
Calamagrostis, or Small-reed or (Am.) Reedgrass, is a genus in the Grass family Poaceae
with about 260 species that occur mainly in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere
and the southern hemisphere. Towards equatorial latitudes, species of Calamagrostis generally occur at higher elevations in mountainous regions. These tufted perennials
usually have hairless narrow leaves
. The ligules are usually blunt. The inflorescence
forms a panicle
. Some may be reed-like.
The plants may be rhizomatous
(underground stems with shoots), stoloniferous (with runners), or caespitose (growing in tufts or clumps).
The bisexual spikelets have a single floret and generally they are purple or purple-brown. The spikelets are clustered into inflorescences, which usually develop in early- to mid-summer on long culms ( = stems). Species of Calamagrostis can be very decorative; for example, in North America, a cultivar of Calamagrostis (Calamagrostis x acutiflora cv. Karl Foerster) is widely grown as an ornamental grass.
The word "Calamagrostis" is derived from the Greek
word kalamos (reed) and agrostis (a kind of grass).
Many species of Calamagrostis are morphologically
similar, but they generally occur in distinct habitats, and they have unique geographical distributions. Given the subtle distinctions between many closely related taxa, there are several species complexes that could benefit from additional systematic study. Even the generic boundaries of the genus are controversial. For example, species in the genus Deyeuxia, distributed largely in the southern hemisphere are morphologically very similar to species of Calamagrostis. It may be appropriate to recognize all of these species in a single genus, but this will require detailed scientific study of DNA of species from around the world.
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Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
with about 260 species that occur mainly in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
and the southern hemisphere. Towards equatorial latitudes, species of Calamagrostis generally occur at higher elevations in mountainous regions. These tufted perennials
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
usually have hairless narrow leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
. The ligules are usually blunt. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
forms a panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
. Some may be reed-like.
The plants may be rhizomatous
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
(underground stems with shoots), stoloniferous (with runners), or caespitose (growing in tufts or clumps).
The bisexual spikelets have a single floret and generally they are purple or purple-brown. The spikelets are clustered into inflorescences, which usually develop in early- to mid-summer on long culms ( = stems). Species of Calamagrostis can be very decorative; for example, in North America, a cultivar of Calamagrostis (Calamagrostis x acutiflora cv. Karl Foerster) is widely grown as an ornamental grass.
The word "Calamagrostis" is derived from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word kalamos (reed) and agrostis (a kind of grass).
Many species of Calamagrostis are morphologically
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
similar, but they generally occur in distinct habitats, and they have unique geographical distributions. Given the subtle distinctions between many closely related taxa, there are several species complexes that could benefit from additional systematic study. Even the generic boundaries of the genus are controversial. For example, species in the genus Deyeuxia, distributed largely in the southern hemisphere are morphologically very similar to species of Calamagrostis. It may be appropriate to recognize all of these species in a single genus, but this will require detailed scientific study of DNA of species from around the world.
Species
- Calamagrostis × acutiflora - Feather Reedgrass (hybrid Calamagrostis arundinacea × Calamagrostis epigeios)
- Calamagrostis arundinaceaCalamagrostis arundinaceaCalamagrostis arundinacea Roth is a species of bunch grass in the Poaceae family, native to Eurasia....
- Rough Small-reed - Calamagrostis bolanderiCalamagrostis bolanderiCalamagrostis bolanderi is a species of grass known by the common name Bolander's reedgrass.It is endemic to northern California, where it grows in moist coastal habitat such as temperate coniferous forest, wet meadows and bogs, and coastal scrub. This is a perennial grass growing to heights...
- Bolander's Reedgrass - Calamagrostis breweriCalamagrostis breweriCalamagrostis breweri is a species of grass known by the common name shorthair reedgrass.It is native to the mountains of northern California and Oregon, where it grows in forest and meadow in subalpine and alpine climates. This is a perennial grass without rhizomes which forms tufts and bunches up...
- Shorthair Reedgrass - Calamagrostis cainii - Cain's Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis canadensisCalamagrostis canadensisCalamagrostis canadensis is a species of grass, having three or more varieties, in the Poaceae family. It is known variously by the common names of Bluejoint, Bluejoint reedgrass, Marsh reedgrass, Canadian reedgrass, Meadow pinegrass, and Marsh pinegrass.-Varieties:Calamagrostis canadensis takes...
- Canadian Small-reed, Bluejoint, Bluejoint Reedgrass, Bluetop, Meadow Pinegrass, Canadian Reedgrass, Marsh Pinegrass, Marsh Reedgrass.- Calamagrostis canadensis var. canadensis (Michx.) Beauv.
- Calamagrostis canadensis var. langsdorfii (Link) Inman bluejoint
- Calamagrostis canadensis var. macouniana (Vasey) Stebbins bluejoint, Macoun's reedgrass
- Calamagrostis canescensCalamagrostis canescensCalamagrostis canescens Roth is a species of grass in the Poaceae family, native to Europe and western Siberia....
- Purple Small-reed - Calamagrostis chalybaea
- Calamagrostis coarctata - Arctic Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis deschampsioides - Circumpolar Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis epigeios - Wood Small-reedWood Small-reedWood Small-reed is a grass in the Poaceae family.It is found in Europe, Africa, and Asia....
, Bushgrass, Reed Bent- Calamagrostis epigeios ssp. macrolepis - Chee Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis epigeios ssp. meinshausenii - Meinshausen's Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis expansa - Maui Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis foliosaCalamagrostis foliosaCalamagrostis foliosa is a species of grass known by the common name leafy reedgrass.It is endemic to northern California, where it grows in the forests and scrub on the coastline. This perennial grass produces a tuft of stems 30 to 60 centimeters tall. The leaves are mostly located about the base...
- Leafy Reedgrass - Calamagrostis hillebrandii - Hillebrand's Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis holmii - Holm'sTheo HolmHerman Theodor "Theo" Holm was a Danish-American systematic botanist. He studied botany at the University of Copenhagen under professor Eugenius Warming and graduated 1880. He participated in the Danish Dijmphna expedition to the territory between Russia and the North Pole during the First...
Reedgrass - Calamagrostis howellii - Howell's Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis hyperborea - Northern Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis inexpansa
- Calamagrostis koelerioidesCalamagrostis koelerioidesCalamagrostis koelerioides, Fire reedgrass, is a bunch grass species in the Poaceae family.Calamagrostis koelerioides is native to the Pacific Northwest of the United States, with a distribution extending east to Wyoming and south to California, where it can be found in many habitat types.This...
- Fire Reedgrass - Calamagrostis × kolymensis - Kolymen Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis lapponica - Lapland Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis leonardii
- Calamagrostis montanensis - Plains Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis nutkaensisCalamagrostis nutkaensisCalamagrostis nutkaensis is a species of grass known by the common names Pacific reedgrass and Nootka reedgrass.It is native to western North America from Alaska to central California, where it is mainly a coastal species growing in moist areas such as beaches and wetlands. This is a perennial...
- Pacific Reedgrass - Calamagrostis ophitidisCalamagrostis ophitidisCalamagrostis ophitidis, serpentine reedgrass, is a species of bunch grass in the Poaceae family.It is endemic to California, where it grows in the serpentine soils of the mountain slopes north of the San Francisco Bay Area....
- Serpentine Reedgrass - Calamagrostis perplexa - Wood Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis pickeringii - Pickering's Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis porteri - Porter's Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis pseudophragmites
- Calamagrostis purpurascensPurple ReedgrassCalamagrostis purpurascens, variously known by the common names Purple Reedgrass, Purple Pinegrass, or Alpine Reedgrass is a perennial grass, growing 30 to 70 cm tall.-Distribution:...
- Purple ReedgrassPurple ReedgrassCalamagrostis purpurascens, variously known by the common names Purple Reedgrass, Purple Pinegrass, or Alpine Reedgrass is a perennial grass, growing 30 to 70 cm tall.-Distribution:...
- Calamagrostis purpurascens var. laricina - Purple Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis purpurascens var. purpurascens - Purple Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis rubescensCalamagrostis rubescensCalamagrostis rubescens is a species of grass known by the common name pinegrass.It is native to western North America, including Canada from British Columbia to Manitoba and the United States from California to Colorado...
- Pinegrass, Pine Reedgrass - Calamagrostis scopulorum - Ditch Reedgrass, Jones Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis scotica - Scottish Small-reed, a rare speciesRare speciesA rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon or scarce. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and may be distinct from the term "endangered" or "threatened species" but not "extinct"....
under protection by the UK Biodiversity Action PlanBiodiversity Action PlanA Biodiversity Action Plan is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems. The original impetus for these plans derives from the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity... - Calamagrostis scribneri - a species of questionable taxonomic status, that has been recognized in western North America; according to ITISItisItis may refer to* Integrated Taxonomic Information System, a partnership designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species...
, a synonym of Calamagrostis canadensis var. canadensis (Michx.) Beauv. - Calamagrostis sesquiflora - One-and-a-half Flower Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis strictaCalamagrostis strictaCalamagrostis stricta, Slim-stem Reed Grass, Koeler is a species of bunch grass in the Poaceae family.Calamagrostis stricta is native to wetlands of the Holarctic Kingdom....
- Narrow Small-reed, Narrowspike Reedgrass, Slim-stem Reed Grass, Slimstem Reedgrass- Calamagrostis stricta var. borealis - Boreal Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis stricta var. stricta - Slimstem Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis tweedyi - Tweedy's Reedgrass
- Calamagrostis varia
- Calamagrostis villosa
External links
http://www.gardeningpicturegallery.com/calamagrostis.html