Poa curtifolia

Scribn.
Common names: Wematchee bluegrass
Endemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 24. Treatment on page 589.
Please click on the illustration for a higher resolution version.
Illustrator: Sandy Long

Copyright: Utah State University

Plants perennial; densely tufted, not stoloniferous, not rhizomatous. Basal branching mainly intravaginal. Culms (15) 20-40 cm, erect or decumbent, with 1-2 exserted nodes. Sheaths closed for 1/5-1/3 their length, terete, smooth, bases of basal sheaths glabrous, distal sheath lengths 4-33 times blade lengths, smooth, glabrous; ligules (1.5) 2-5 mm, smooth or sparsely scabrous, margins distinctly decurrent, apices obtuse to acute, ligules of innovations prominent, milky white; innovation blades similar to the cauline blades; cauline blades gradually reduced in length upwards, (1) 1.5-3 mm wide, flat, thick, fairly firm, smooth or sparsely scabrous, margins white, apices broadly prow-shaped, flag leaf-blades 0.2-1.8 cm, infrequently absent. Panicles 4-8 cm, erect, linear to narrowly lanceoloid, contracted, moderately congested, with 9-35 spikelets; nodes with 1-2 branches; branches 1-2.5 cm, erect to steeply ascending, straight, sulcate or angled, angles sparsely to moderately scabrous, with 1-4 spikelets in the distal 1/2. Spikelets 7-9 mm, lengths 3.5-4 times widths, lanceolate, fairly compressed, pale, slightly lustrous; florets (2) 3-4; rachilla internodes 1-2 mm. Glumes lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, margins broadly scarious, keels indistinct, smooth or sparsely scabrous; lower glumes 3-veined, slightly to distinctly shorter than the lowest lemma; calluses glabrous; lemmas 4.5-6 mm, lanceolate, somewhat weakly keeled, glabrous or the keels, marginal veins, and intercostal regions very sparsely puberulent over the proximal 1/3, lateral-veins obscure, margins strongly inrolled proximally, broadly scarious distally, glabrous, apices acute; palea keels scabrous, glabrous or puberulent at midlength; anthers 2.2-3.5 mm. 2n = 42.

Discussion

Poa curtifolia is endemic to upper serpentine slopes in the Wenatchee Mountains, Kittitas and Chelan counties, "Washington. It has narrow panicles like P. pringlei (p. 564) and P. suksdorfii (p. 584). It differs from P. secunda (p. 586), with which it is sometimes confused, in having all blades short, flat, and firm, and few spikelets per branch.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"thin" is not a number."reduced" is not a number.No values specified."decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Poa curtifolia"
membranous +  and scarious +
puberulent +, hispidulous +, hairy +  and glabrous +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (?) +
0.22 cm2.2 mm <br />0.0022 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
scarious-hyaline +
acute +, prow--shaped +  and obtuse +
Robert J. Soreng +
Scribn. +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
straight +
basal +  and terminal +
keeled +  and rounded +
strigose +  and glabrous +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
persisting +
not evident +
involute +, folded +  and flat +
erect;steeply ascending +
hispidulous +, glabrous +, smooth or +  and sparsely densely scabrous +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
compressed +  and terete +
Wematchee bluegrass +
unbranched +  and hollow +
decumbent +  and erect +
compressed +, terete +  and capillary +
20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br /> (40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br />) +
not woody +
1/4 +  and 1/3 +
liquid +, soft +  and hard +
capillary +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
3 +  and 4 +
compressed +
reduced +
bulb-forming +  and normal +
1-3(5)-veined +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
lanceolate +  and broadly lanceolate +
unequal +
distributed +
uncinate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
0 +  and 1/6 +
Oval (?) +  and Round (?) +
milky white +  and slightly greenish +
indistinct +
5(7-11)-veined +
keeled +  and lanceolate +
subequal +
0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
membranous +
erose +  and entire +
milky white +
ciliolate +  and smooth +
lacerate +, truncate +  and acuminate +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
lobed +  and lanceolate +
slightly to distinctly shorter +
decurrent +
concealed +  and prominent +
0 +  and 5 +
2 +  and 1 +
well-developed +
2-keeled +
subequal +
30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br /> (?) +
linear +  and narrowly lanceoloid +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
pubescent +, glabrous +, scabrous +  and smooth +
compressed +  and lanceolate +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
simple +  and compound +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
Gramineae +
Poa curtifolia +
Poa subsect. Secundae +
species +
membranous +
parallel +  and converging +
branching +, not rhizomatous +  and not stoloniferous +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +