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Western Wetland Flora

Field Office Guide to Plant Species

Slimstem Reedgrass
Calamagrostis neglecta (Ehrh.) P. Gaertn., B. Meyer

JPG -- Species Photo JPG -- Distribution Map

Family: Grass (Gramineae)
Flowering: July-August
Field Marks: The 1-flowered spikelets of this grass have short, straight awns and glumes that are up to 1/6 inch long. The panicles are narrow and contracted. The lemma has a tuft of hairs at the base.
Habitat: Marshes, wet meadows, along streams, around ponds and lakes.
Habit: Perennial grass with rhizomes.
Stems: Upright, unbranched, hollow, up to 4 feet tall, smooth or rough to the touch.
Leaves: Elongated, rolled into a tube, rarely flat or folded, 1/6-1/4 inch wide, smooth, hairy or rough to the touch; ligules usually about 1/6 inch long, minutely hairy.
Flowers: Borne in spikelets, with many spikelets in a contracted panicle up to 8 inches long; glumes up to 1/6 inch long, smooth or rough to the touch, sometimes purplish; lemma with an awn up to 1/8 inch long and with a tuft of hairs at the base of the lemma.
Sepals: 0.
Petals: 0.
Stamens: 3.
Pistils: Ovary superior, smooth.
Grains: Ellipsoid, smooth.
Notes: This species is sometimes united with C. inexpansa. It provides fair forage for cattle and horses. The grains are eaten by birds and small mammals.

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Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:23:48 EST
Menlo Park, CA [caww54]