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• Calamagrostis canadensis

Calamagrostis canadensis — bluejoint, Canada reed grass

Facts

Canada reed grass is found in a variety of habitats in New England. There are three varieties recognized, two of which are regionally rare. The Cree people used this species to line and cover pits that were used to store potatoes in the winter.

Habitat

Alpine or subalpine zones, marshes, meadows and fields, mountain summits and plateaus, shores of rivers or lakes, swamps, wetland margins (edges of wetlands)

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther length

  0.8–2.6 mm

  Anther number

  3

  Awn on glume

  the glume has no awn

  Bristles below spikelets

  no

  Floret lower bract texture

  the lemma is thin and flexible

  Floret number

  1

  Floret types within spikelet

  all the florets within a spikelet are similar

  Glume awn length

  0 mm

  Glume keel

  • the glume keels are rough or hairy
  • the glume keels are smooth and hairless

  Glume relative length

  one or both glumes are as long or longer than all of the florets

  Glume shape

  • the glume is V-shaped in cross-section
  • the glume is flat or curved in cross-section

  Glume veins

  • 1
  • 3

  Glumes per spikelet

  2

  Inflorescence arrangement

  the spikelets are uniform

  Inflorescence axis orientation

  • the inflorescence axis is arched or curved outward
  • the inflorescence axis is straight

  Inflorescence branch length

  2.7–12 cm

  Inflorescence branch roughness

  the inflorescence branches are somewhat to very rough

  Inflorescence branches

  the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence

  Inflorescence crowding

  the panicle is somewhat to very spread out, with clearly-evident branches

  Inflorescence length

  60–250 mm

  Inflorescence length to width ratio

  3.1–6

  Inflorescence type (general)

  the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches

  Inflorescence type (specific)

  the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes

  Inflorescence width

  10–80 mm

  Inforescence position

  the spikelets are mainly carried at the end of the stem

  Lemma awn base

  the awn is attached at the lower half of the lemma (it emerges from near the base of the lemma)

  Lemma awn coiled

  the lemma awn is straight or twisted, but not coiled one half turn

  Lemma awn length

  0.9–3.1 mm

  Lemma awn number

  the lemma has one awn on it

  Lemma awn orientation

  • the awn of the lemma is straight
  • the awn of the lemma on dried or older plants is curved or bent outwards

  Lemma base hair length

  1.5–4.5 mm

  Lemma base hairs

  the lemma has hairs at the base

  Lemma cross-section

  the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint

  Lemma hairs

  the lemma is hairless between the veins

  Lemma surface

  the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)

  Lemma tip

  • the lemma tip has a ragged edge
  • the lemma tip is split into two or more points

  Lemma tip shape

  the lemma tip tapers to a long narrow point (it may or may not also have an awn or teeth at the tip)

  Lemma vein number

  5

  Lower glume length

  2.2–6 mm

  Lower glume relative length

  the lower glume is nearly as long, or as long as, the upper glume

  One or more florets

  there is one floret per spikelet

  Palea relative length

  palea is one half to fully as long as lemma

  Reproductive system

  all the flowers on the plant have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)

  Spikelet axis length

  0 mm

  Spikelet axis tip

  there is an extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet

  Spikelet disintegration

  the spikelet breaks off above the glumes, so that after the florets fall off, the glumes remain

  Spikelet length

  2–5.2 mm

  Spikelet number per node

  0

  Spikelet pedicel

  the spikelets have pedicels

  Spikelet position

  the spikelets emerge mainly from the upper halves of the inflorescence branches

  Spikelets spiny

  the spikelets do not appear spiny

  Tip of glume

  the tip of the glume is not divided (though it may have an awn on it)

  Upper glume length

  2.2–6 mm

  Upper glume relative length

  the upper glume is more than one half as long as the lowest lemma

  Upper glume shape

  the upper glume is widest at or below the middle

• Fruits or seeds

  Seed length

  1–1.5 mm

• Growth form

  Horizontal rooting stem

  no

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Rhizomes

  yes

  Roots

  the plant has rhizomes (horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

• Leaves

  Basal leaves

  the plant has few or no leaves coming from the base of the flowering stem

  Leaf auricles

  the leaves do not have auricles

  Leaf basal lobe hairy

  NA

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section, or slightly folded or rolled inwards

  Leaf blade hairs

  • the leaf blade is hairless, but it may have tiny prickles that give it a sand-papery feel
  • the leaf blade is hairy

  Leaf blade length

  10–50 cm

  Leaf blade texture

  the leaf blade is rough and sandpapery

  Leaf blade width

  2–11 mm

  Leaf ligule length

  1–12 mm

  Leaf ligule type

  the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane

  Leaf margin glands

  there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade

  Leaf sheath closed around stem

  the margins of the leaf sheath are overlapping and not fused together except in the basal half (or less)

  Leaf sheath hair type

  there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

  Leaf sheath hairs

  there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

• Place

  Habitat

  • terrestrial
  • wetlands

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • alpine or subalpine zones
  • edges of wetlands
  • marshes
  • meadows or fields
  • mountain summits and plateaus
  • shores of rivers or lakes
  • swamps

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Plant height

  32–180 cm

  Stem hairs

  the stem is nearly to completely hairless

  Stem node number

  2–8

  Stem orientation

  the stems are upright

  Stem spacing

  • the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts
  • the stems grow singly or a few together (they may form diffuse colonies)

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae