Poa secunda J.S. Presl. ssp. secunda
=Poa scabrella
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Poa secunda J.S. Presl. ssp. secunda
=Poa scabrella
Poaceae (Grass Family)NativeOne-Sided Bluegrass |
March Photo
Plant Characteristics:
Perennial, green, small to moderate tufts, the culms slender, erect,
smooth to scabrid, 4-10 dm. high, often +/- one-sided; lvs. largely basal, soft,
slender, generally flat, 0.5-3 mm. wide,
soon withering, basal often thread-like; the sheaths smooth or scabrid, open 3/4
length to near base; ligules 3-7 mm. long, acute or acuminate; panicle usually
narrow and contracted, sometimes open, 5-15 cm. long; spikelets 3-7 fld., 6-10
mm. long; glumes acute, keeled, the 1st 1-nerved, the 2d large and usually
3-nerved; lemmas 3-5 mm. long, awnless, 5-nerved, or rarely 3-nerved; base +/-
evenly short-hairy on keel and sides across base, sometimes nearly glabrous;
palea keels and between them generally hairy in lower half.
Habitat:
Common on hillsides below 5000 ft., many Plant Communities, cismontane s.
Calif.; up to 10,000 ft. in mountains of n. Mojave Desert, largely above
Creosote Bush Scrub; n. to Wash., s. to L. Calif.
On most Islands off the coast. Feb.-June.
Name:
Poa, Ancient Greek for grass or fodder.
(Munz, Flora So. Calif. 990).
Latin, secundas, following or second.
(Jaeger 234). The meaning of
the species name secunda is not clear.
General:
Rare in the study area with only a few plants in one small area, at the
bluff top, northerly of the Eastbluff burn area.
(my comment).
A number of very closely related species or forms exist in this group,
differing mostly in the shape of the panicle.
All are bunch grasses of the western states and are valuable forage
grasses at lower and medium altitudes. (Pohl
70). Many
ecological forms have been named; all intergrade completely, probably do not
warrant taxonomic recognition. (Hickman,
Ed. 1289). About 250 species in all
temp. and cool regions. (Munz, Flora
So. Calif. 990).
Text Ref:
Hickman, Ed. 1289; Munz, Flora So. Calif. 995; Pohl 70.
Photo Ref:
Mar-April 95 #15,17.
Identity: by John Johnson.
Computer Ref: Plant Data 491.
Have plant specimen.
Last edit 4/23/03
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March Photo