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Western Wetland Flora

Field Office Guide to Plant Species

Narrow-spike Small-reedgrass
Calamagrostis inexpansa Gray

JPG -- Species Photo JPG -- Distribution Map

Family: Grass (Gramineae)
Flowering: July-September
Field Marks: Calamagrostis is distinguished by its 1-flowered spikelets that have owned lemmas and a tuft of long hair at the base of each lemma. This species has lemmas with a straight awn about as long as the glumes, narrow panicles, an
Habitat: Wet meadows, marshes, boggy areas.
Habit: Tufted perennial with slender rhizomes.
Stems: Upright, up to 3 1/2 feet tall, rough to the touch.
Leaves: Elongated, narrow, flat or rolled up, 1/10-1/6 inch wide, rough to the touch.
Flowers: 1 per spikelet, with many spikelets arranged in a narrow, dense panicle, the panicle up to 6 inches long; spikelets up to 1/4 inch long; lemmas with an awn about as long as the glumes.
Sepals: 0.
Petals: 0.
Stamens: 3.
Pistils: Ovary superior.
Grains: Smooth.
Notes: The grains are eaten by waterfowl.

Previous Species -- American Sloughgrass (Beckmannia syzigachne)
Return to Species List -- Group 2
Next Species -- Slimstem Reedgrass (Calamagrostis neglecta)

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/florawe/species/2/calainex.htm
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Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:23:47 EST
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