Poa sublanata

Illustrator: Sandy Long

Copyright: Utah State University

Plants perennial; usually anthocyanic; extensively rhizomatous, loosely tufted, culms solitary or a few together. Basal branching mainly extravaginal. Culms 20-40(75) cm, erect or the bases decumbent, not branching above the base, terete or weakly compressed; nodes terete, proximal nodes usually not exserted. Sheaths closed for 2/5 – 1/2 their length, terete, glabrous, smooth or slightly scabrous, bases of basal sheaths glabrous, distal sheath lengths (1)1.2-3.5 times blade lengths; collars smooth, glabrous; ligules 1.5-4(6) mm, smooth, apices obtuse to acute, not ciliate; blades 1-3.5(5) mm wide, folded or flat, innovation shoot blades involute, soft, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces smooth or sparsely scabrous, frequently sparsely hairy with 0.2-0.8 mm hairs, slender, erect to appressed, curving, sinuous or straight, apices narrowly prow-shaped, cauline blades subequal, flag leaf blades 1.5-8 cm. Panicles 5-9(17) cm, narrowly lanceoloid to narrowly pyramidal, loosely contacted to open, sparse, with 25-60 spikelets and 2-5 branches per node; branches 1-3 cm, ascending to spreading, slightly flexuous to fairly straight, terete, smooth or sparsely scabrous, usually with 1-5 spikelets per branch, the spikelets moderately crowded in the distal 1/2. Spikelets 4-6.5(8) mm, lengths to 3 times widths, laterally compressed; florets 2-4(6); rachilla internodes shorter than 1 mm, smooth, usually glabrous, rarely with a few hairs. Glumes unequal to subequal, usually distinctly shorter than the adjacent lemmas, lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels smooth to sparsely scabrous; lower glumes 2.8-3.5 mm, narrowly lanceolate, (1)3-veined; upper glumes 4-4.5(5) mm, distinctly shorter than to nearly equaling the lowest lemmas; calluses dorsally webbed, webs copious, hairs at least 1/2 times the lemma length, sometimes secondary webs present under the marginal veins; lemmas 3.7-4.5(5) mm, lanceolate, usually strongly purple, distinctly keeled, keels, lateral veins, and marginal veins copiously hairy, hairs cottony, lateral veins prominent, less hairy, intercostal regions glabrous, usually smooth or finely muriculate, sometimes sparsely scabrous distally, margins narrowly hyaline, glabrous, apices acute; palea keels sparsely scabrous, long-villous at midlength, intercostal regions narrow, glabrous; anthers 1.8-2.5 mm. 2n = 56, ca. 70.

Discussion

Poa sublanata grows in the high arctic of Alaska and Russia, usually on sandy ground. Bulbiferous plants are known from Russia; none have been found in the Flora region.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.