Sesleria caerulea

(L.) Ard.
Common names: Blue moorgrass
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 24. Treatment on page 681.

Plants densely cespitose, shortly rhizomatous, glaucous. Culms to 40 (60) cm, erect, stiff, strongly grooved, glabrous; nodes 4-6. Leaves mostly basal; sheaths grooved, glabrous, keeled distally, basal sheaths persistent, pubescent, disintegrating at maturity; ligules 0.3-0.5 mm, erose, often finely ciliate; blades of innovations and lower cauline leaves to 40 cm long, 2-4 mm wide, flat or slightly involute, divergent, apices rounded and slightly hooded, adaxial surfaces glaucous, particularly when young, midveins prominent, particularly basally, margins scabrous; blades of flag leaves 0.5-2.5 cm long, 2-4 mm wide. Panicles (0.9) 1.2-1.4 (2.4) cm long, 5-8 (12) mm wide, dense, usually spherical or ovoid, usually purplish, branches with 1-2 spikelets; pedicels 0.5-1 mm, scabrous; bracts 2, 2-4 mm long, equally broad, erose. Spikelets 4-6 mm, with (2) 3 florets, usually purplish, rarely stramineous. Glumes 4-5 mm, ovate, hyaline, mostly glabrous, margins ciliate, particularly distally, midveins with stiff hairs, apices acute, awns to 1.5 mm; lemmas 3.5-5 mm, hyaline, ovate, midveins and marginal veins hairy at least distally, hairs about 0.1 mm, appressed hairy between the veins, midveins forming 0.2-2 mm teeth, lateral-veins forming 0.1-0.4 mm teeth; paleas as long as the lemmas, margins and keels hairy distally, hairs about 0.1 mm, veins forming awnlike apices to 2.3 mm; anthers about 2.3-3.2 mm. Caryopses about 2 mm, obovoid, hairy distally. 2n = 28.

Discussion

Sesleria caerulea is native to Europe, ranging from central Sweden to northwestern Russia and central Bulgaria. It usually grows in moist to wet, calcareous pastures and bogs. It is grown as an ornamental in the Flora region.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"broad" is not a number."decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Sesleria caerulea"
membranous +  and scarious +
0.23 cm2.3 mm <br />0.0023 m <br /> (0.32 cm3.2 mm <br />0.0032 m <br />) +
awnlike +, acute +  and rounded +
Mary E. Barkworth +
(L.) Ard. +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
straight +
basal +  and terminal +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
not evident +
cross +, linear +  and narrowly lanceolate +
ovate +  and round +
spikelike +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (?) +
with scattered hairs +  and glabrous +
Blue moorgrass +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br />) +
not woody +
1/4 +  and 1/3 +
liquid +, soft +  and hard +
capillary +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
sterile +  and bisexual +
compressed +
reduced +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
unequal +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
scarious +  and membranous +
uncinate +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
cylindrical +  and globose +
3 +  and 5 +
0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
membranous +
truncate +  and obtuse +
0.03 cm0.3 mm <br />3.0e-4 m <br /> (0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br />) +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
concealed +  and prominent +
4 +  and 6 +
2 +  and 1 +
well-developed +
2-keeled +
exceeding the lemmas +  and equaling +
1.2cm +  and 1.4cm +
ovoid +  and spherical +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
pilose +  and glabrous +
1 +  and 2 +
stramineous +  and purplish +
compressed +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
simple +  and compound +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
Gramineae +
Sesleria caerulea +
Sesleria +
species +
membranous +
awnlike +
0.01 cm0.1 mm <br />1.0e-4 m <br /> (0.04 cm0.4 mm <br />4.0e-4 m <br />) +
parallel +  and converging +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.23 cm2.3 mm <br />0.0023 m <br />) +
plant +  and cespitose +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +