Plants loosely cespitose, sometimes
rhizomatous. Culms 30-100 cm tall,
0.5-2 mm thick, sometimes glaucous. Ligules
truncate, 0.1-0.4 mm on the lower leaves, 0.2-0.4 mm on the upper leaves; blades 2-6 mm wide, involute when dry,
flag leaf blades strongly divergent when dry, abaxial surfaces smooth,
glabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous or hirsute. Spikes 8-15 cm long, 3-8(10) mm wide excluding the awns; middle internodes 7-20(25) mm,
glabrous, scabrous on the angles. Spikelets 8-22(25) mm, with 4-9 florets. Glumes 6-13 mm long, 0.9-2.2 mm wide, about 1/2 the length of the
spikelets, glabrous, sometimes scabrous over the veins, acute; lemmas 9-14 mm, unawned or with a
terminal, strongly divergent awn, awns to 25 mm. 2n = 14, 28.
Pseudoroegneria spicata is primarily a
western North American species, extending from the east side of the coastal
mountains to the western edge of the Great Plains, and from the Arctic Ocean to
northern Mexico. It was also collected by Farwell in Keenewaw County, Michigan
in 1895 (Voss 1972). It grows on medium-textured soils in arid and semiarid
steppe, shrub-steppe, and open woodland communities, and was one of the dominant
species in grassland communities of the Columbia and Snake river plains (Daubenmire
1939, 1960). It is still an important forage plant in the northern portion of
the Intermountain region. Several cultivars have been developed.
Rhizomatous
plants are favored in relatively moist habitats, and cespitose plants in dry
habitats (Daubenmire 1960). Daubenmire noted that rhizomatous plants produce
few inflorescences and, possibly for this reason, are collected less frequently
than cespitose plants. Daubenmire also found that awn length varies
continuously within plants grown from seed. He concluded that the ability to
produce rhizomes and unawned plants is heritable, that the two characters are
not linked, and that the form which becomes dominant at a local site is
determined by environmental conditions.
The
unawned phase tends to be more restricted in its distribution than the awned
phase, being dominant in the native grasslands of southern British Columbia,
eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and northern and eastern Oregon; the awned
phase is found throughout the range of the species. Many populations include
awned and unawned plants, as well as some that have poorly developed awns on
some lemmas. Awned autotetraploid populations grow in mesic grassland and
woodland communities of the hills and mountains of southern British Columbia
and eastern Washington.
Based
on informal observations, plant breeders working with Pseudoroegneria spicata consider that awn presence is determined by
a single major gene, and modified by some minor genes. The unawned condition is
apparently dominant, as seed from crosses of heterozygotic, diploid, unawned
parents gives rise to around 50% awned offspring.
The
above observations make it clear that the awned and unawned phases of Pseudoroegneria spicata are of little
taxonomic significance, despite their evident morphological difference. If it
is considered necessary to distinguish between them, the awned phase can be
called Pseudoroegneria spicata (Pursh)
-. L-ve forma spicata-and the unawned phase P. spicata forma inermis
(Scribn. & J.G. Sm.) Barkworth.
Plants
with densely pubescent leaves are known from the east slope of the Cascade
Mountains in Washington. Plants with nearly as densely pubescent leaves are
found elsewhere in southern Washington and northeastern Oregon. Such pubescent
plants may be called Pseudoroegneria
spicata forma pubescens (Elmer)
Barkworth.
Pseudoroegneria spicata used to be
confused with Elymus wawawaiensis, from which it differs in its
more widely spaced spikelets and wider, less stiff glumes. The two species are geographically
sympatric, but P. spicata grows in
medium- to fine-textured loess soils, and E.
wawawaiensis in shallow, rocky soils. Pseudoroegneria
spicata may also be confused with Elymus
arizonicus, particularly with immature specimens of that species or specimens
mounted so that they appear to have erect, rather than drooping, spikes. It
differs in having shorter, truncate ligules and generally thicker culms than E. arizonicus, and in having a
distribution that extends much further north.
Pseudoroegneria spicata has been
suggested as one of the parents in numerous natural hybrids with species of Elymus-in the Flora
region. These hybrids are usually mostly sterile, but development of even a few
viable seeds permits introgression to occur, as well as the formation of
distinctive populations. It is often difficult to detect such hybrids,
particularly if they involve the unawned form of Pseudoroegneria. The named hybrids are treated under -Pseudelymus-(p. --). Others are discussed under the Elymus parent.
Green or glaucous, 4-10 dm, in dense tufts sometimes 1.5 dm wide at base; lvs numerous, mostly cauline, flat to loosely involute, 2-4 mm wide, usually pilose above; auricles clasping the stem; spikes 7-18 cm, slender, the middle internodes 9-17 mm, the remote spikelets shorter to slightly longer than the internodes, 12-16+ mm, 4-6(-9)-fld; glumes narrowly oblong to obovate, rounded to acute, rarely awn-tipped, scabrous-margined, glabrous to scabrous on the 4-5 veins; lemmas 8-10 mm, with divergent awns 9-15 mm, varying to sometimes (but not in our plants) awnless; anthers 4-6 mm; 2n=14, 28. Open, moderately dry places; widespread in w. N. Amer., e. to Sask., N.D., and Nebr.; disjunct on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Mich. (Agropyron s.; Pseudoroegneria s.)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
Common Name: bluebunch wheatgrass Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Graminoid General: Loosely to densely tufted perennial grass, sometimes rhizomatous; stems 30-100 cm tall, 0.5-2 mm thick, sometimes glaucous. Vegetative: Blades 2-6 mm wide, yellowish to bluish green, involute when dry, flag leaf blades strongly divergent when dry; ligules truncate, less than 0.5 mm. Inflorescence: Spikes stiffly erect, 8-15 cm long, 3-8 mm wide excluding awns, with 1 spikelet per node; middle internodes 7-20 mm, glabrous, scabrous on angles; spikelets 8-22 mm with 4-9 florets; disarticulation above the glumes and below the florets; glumes 6-13 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, obtuse and awnless, about half the length of the spikelets, glabrous, sometimes scabrous over the veins; lemmas 9-14 mm, unawned or with a terminal, strongly divergent awn to 2.5 cm long. Ecology: Found in open dry woods and rocky slopes and flats from 4,500-7,500 ft (1372-2286 m); flowers April-June. Distribution: Western North America, from the east side of the coastal mountains to the western edge of the Great Plains, and from the Arctic Ocean to northern Mexico. Notes: This is an awless to medium-awned perennial from the Elymus complex of genera. Ours are generally the awned form, known as ssp. spicata or forma spicata. According to FNA, the awnless and awned forms do frequently coexist, and the presence of awns is not taxonomically significant in this species. Similar in appearance to Elymus arizonicus but flowers in spring rather than later in the season. Spikes are not as strongly distichous (2-ranked) as Pascopyrum smithii. Flora Neomexicana (2012) uses the name Elymus spicatus for this species, while Flora of North America uses the genus name Pseudoroegneria. Ethnobotany: Unknown Etymology: Pseudoroegneria is from Greek pseudes for false, and Roegneria another genus in the grass family; spicata means like a spike. Synonyms: Agropyrum spicatum, A. spicatum var. pubescens, A. vaseyi, Elymus spicatus, Elytrigia spicata, Roegneria spicata Editor: SBuckley 2010, AHazelton 2015