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• Deschampsia flexuosa

Deschampsia flexuosa — wavy hair grass

Facts

Wavy hair grass inhabits thin, sandy soils of mountains, woodlands and sand plains and sometimes forms large stands on mid-elevation, forested peaks. Plants from high-elevation peaks are somewhat different in form. This species is sometimes grown as a garden ornamental.

Habitat

Alpine or subalpine zones, cliffs, balds, or ledges, forests, grassland, mountain summits and plateaus, ridges or ledges, woodlands

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther length

  2–3 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

  2

  Floret types within spikelet

  all the florets within a spikelet are similar

  Glume awn length

  0 mm

  Glume relative length

  • both glumes are as long or longer than all of the florets
  • neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets

  Glume shape

  the glume is V-shaped in cross-section

  Glume veins

  1

  Glumes per spikelet

  2

  Inflorescence arrangement

  the spikelets are uniform

  Inflorescence axis orientation

  the inflorescence axis bends downwards or hangs

  Inflorescence branch roughness

  the inflorescence branches are smooth or only slightly rough

  Inflorescence branches

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

  Inflorescence branches coming off the lowest stem node

  2–5

  Inflorescence crowding

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

  Inflorescence length

  50–150 mm

  Inflorescence length to width ratio

  1.3–2.5

  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

  20–120 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

  3.7–7 mm

  Lemma awn number

  the lemma has one awn on it

  Lemma awn orientation

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

  Lemma base hair length

  Up to 1 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 has fine hairs between the veins
  • the lemma is hairless between the veins

  Lemma keel hairs

  the keel of the lemma is rough, or has fine hairs

  Lemma marginal vein hairs

  the marginal vein of the lemma is hairless

  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 narrow point (it may or may not also have an awn or teeth at the tip)

  Lemma vein number

  5

  Lemma vein orientation

  the veins on the lemma stay roughly parallel throughout

  Lower glume length

  2.7–4.5 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 more than one floret per spikelet

  Palea length

  3.8–5 mm

  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 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

  4–7 mm

  Spikelet number per node

  0

  Spikelet pedicel

  the spikelets have pedicels

  Spikelet pedicel length

  3–10 mm

  Spikelet position

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

  Spikelet shape

  • the spikelets are another shape in profile
  • the spikelets are ovate (egg-shaped, widest below the middle with rounded ends) in profile

  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

  3.5–5 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

  2.5–2.8 mm

• Growth form

  Horizontal rooting stem

  no

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Rhizomes

  no

  Roots

  there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Basal leaves

  the plant has large or prominent tufts of leaves at 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 clearly 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

  12–25 cm

  Leaf blade texture

  the leaf blade is rough and sandpapery

  Leaf blade width

  0.3–2 mm

  Leaf ligule length

  1–2.5 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 color and persistence

  the leaf sheathes are off-white to light-brown and mostly persist in older leaves

  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

  Orientation of topmost leaf

  • NA
  • the flag leaf is held upright, or at less than a 45 degree angle out from the stem

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

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

  Specific habitat

  • alpine or subalpine zones
  • cliffs, balds, or ledges
  • forests
  • grasslands
  • mountain summits and plateaus
  • ridges or ledges
  • woodlands

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Hairs at nodes

  the stem nodes are hairless or they have very sparse hairs

  Plant height

  30–80 cm

  Roots at lower stem nodes

  no

  Stem hairs

  the stem is nearly to completely hairless

  Stem node number

  2

  Stem orientation

  • the stems are upright
  • the stems trail at the base, but turn upwards at the tips

  Stem spacing

  the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts

Wetland status

Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae