Phippsia

(Trin.) R. Br.
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 24. Treatment on page 478.
 TaxonIllustrator 
FNA24 P187B Phippsia pg 479.jpegPhippsia algida
Phippsia concinna
Cindy Roché
Cindy Roché

Plants usually perennial, annual in some environments that have a sufficient growing season for seed production in a single year; cespitose or matlike. Culms 2-19 cm, erect or procumbent, not rooting at the lower nodes, glabrous; prophylls 4-10 mm. Sheaths not inflated, those of the basal leaves usually fused only near the base, those of the flag leaves closed for at least 1/2 their length; auricles absent; ligules membranous, glabrous, acute; blades flat or conduplicate. Inflorescences panicles, dense or diffuse. Spikelets pedicellate, with 1 floret, laterally compressed to nearly terete; rachillas not prolonged beyond the florets; disarticulation above the glumes and beneath the florets. Glumes to 1/3 the length of the florets, ovate, without veins, caducous or persistent, unawned; lower glumes highly reduced; calluses short, glabrous; lemmas 1-3-veined, not strongly keeled, apices acute to rounded, unawned; paleas subequal to the lemmas; lodicules 2, free, glabrous; anthers 1 or 2; ovaries glabrous. Caryopses exceeding the lemmas and exposed at maturity, x = 7.

Distribution

Colo., Alaska, Alta., B.C., Greenland, Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.W.T., Nunavut, Ont., Que., Yukon, Wyo., Mont.

Discussion

Phippsia has two species, one of which is found in arctic Eurasia, Greenland, and the Canadian arctic islands; the other is circumpolar in the arctic, and is also known from the Rocky Mountains of North America and the high Andes of South America.

Key

1 Panicles (0.5)1-2(3) cm long, 3-7 mm wide; spikelet length less than twice the width; glumes caducous, often colorless when present; lemmas often yellow-green, purple coloration, when present, not reaching the apices, glabrous or with a few soft hairs on the lower 1/3, caryopses ellipsoid, widest at or just above the middle Phippsia algida
1 Panicles (1)3-9 cm long, (4)5-15 mm wide; spikelet length 2-3 times the width; glumes, particularly the upper glumes, not caducous, often still present on the previous season's growth, often with some deep purple coloration; lemmas usually purplish-red with a strong coloration over the veins, the color over the midvein extending to the apex, veins with stiff hairs, soft or stiff hairs elsewhere over the lower 1/2 - 2/3 of the surface; caryopses ovoid, widest below the middle Phippsia concinna

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Phippsia"
membranous +  and scarious +
2 +  and 1 +
acute +  and rounded +
Laurie L. Consaul +
(Trin.) R. Br. +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
straight +
basal +  and terminal +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
not evident +
cross +, linear +  and narrowly lanceolate +
spikelike +
not rooting +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (19 cm190 mm <br />0.19 m <br />) +
not woody +
Colo. +, Alaska +, Alta. +, B.C. +, Greenland +, Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.) +, N.W.T. +, Nunavut +, Ont. +, Que. +, Yukon +, Wyo. +  and Mont. +
1/4 +  and 1/3 +
liquid +, soft +  and hard +
capillary +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
sterile +  and bisexual +
compressed +
reduced +
persistent +  and caducous +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
0 +  and 1/3 +
unequal +
uncinate +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
lanceolate +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
well-developed +
2-keeled +
subequal +
spikelike +
dry +  and fleshy +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
not prolonged +
aares2000a +, aiken1995d +, bay1992a +  and steen2004a +
not inflated +
1 +  and 60 +
laterally compressed +  and nearly terete +
0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
simple +  and compound +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
Gramineae +
Phippsia +
Poaceae tribe Poeae +
membranous +
parallel +  and converging +
stoloniferous +  and rhizomatous +
annual +  and perennial +
plant +, matlike +  and cespitose +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +