Puccinellia nutkaensis

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Puccinellia nutkaensis
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Pooideae
Genus: Puccinellia
Species:
P. nutkaensis
Binomial name
Puccinellia nutkaensis

Puccinellia nutkaensis is a species of grass known by the common names Nootka alkaligrass [1] and Alaska alkali grass. It is native to North America from Alaska across northern Canada to Greenland and Nova Scotia, and down to Washington to Oregon to the Central Coast of California.

Contents

Description

Puccinellia nutkaensis is a perennial bunchgrass which is quite variable in appearance, taking a petite, clumpy form or growing erect to 90 centimeters in height with robust inflorescences. [2] It sometimes roots at stem nodes that become buried in moist substrate, and forms dense stands.

A species of leafhopper, Macrosteles fascifrons , is associated with this grass in Alaska, remaining on the grass even when it is submerged amid icebergs. [3] [4]

Habitat

It is a plant of the coastline in wet areas with rocky, sandy saline soils. A halophyte, the grass is used for revegetation of salt marshes and other habitat in the intertidal zone in Alaska, where it is valuable for its tolerance of heavy inundation in cold saltwater during high tides and storm surges. [3]

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<i>Pleuropogon</i> Genus of grasses

Pleuropogon is a genus of Arctic and North American plants in the grass family known generally as semaphore grass.

<i>Puccinellia</i> Genus of grasses

Puccinellia is a genus of plants in the grass family, known as alkali grass or salt grass.

<i>Festuca arizonica</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Calamagrostis nutkaensis</i> Species of grass

Calamagrostis nutkaensis is a species of grass known by the common names Pacific reedgrass and Nootka reedgrass.

<i>Bromus carinatus</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Muhlenbergia richardsonis</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Puccinellia distans</i> Species of grass

Puccinellia distans is a species of grass known by the common names weeping alkaligrass and European alkali grass. It is native to Europe and it is present in most of North America, where it is perhaps an introduced species. It grows in moist habitat, usually in areas with saline soils, such as the edges of salted roads. It is a perennial herb producing hollow stems up to 40 to 60 centimeters in maximum height. The inflorescence is a spreading array of branches, the lower ones reflexed. The branches bear several rough-haired spikelets containing flowers.

Puccinellia howellii is a rare species of grass known by the common name Howell's alkaligrass. It is endemic to Shasta County, California, where it is known from a single population in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area near Whiskeytown. Its entire population is contained in a 1-acre (4,000 m2) complex of three saline mineral springs directly next to Highway 299. The grass was first described to science in 1990 and no other populations were discovered despite extensive searches of the area.

<i>Puccinellia lemmonii</i> Species of grass

Puccinellia lemmonii is a species of grass known by the common name Lemmon's alkaligrass. It is native to western North America, particularly the northwestern United States, where it grows in moist, saline soils.

<i>Puccinellia nuttalliana</i> Species of grass

Puccinellia nuttalliana is a species of grass known by the common name Nuttall's alkaligrass. It is native to North America, where it is widespread from Alaska east throughout Canada to Greenland, and common in the western and central United States. It is present in the Arctic, throughout the temperate mountain ranges, the Great Plains, the Great Basin, and along the western coastline of North America down through California.

Puccinellia parishii is an uncommon species of grass known by the common names bog alkaligrass and Parish's alkali grass. It is native to the western United States, where it is known from a few locations in Arizona and New Mexico, and one occurrence each in California and Colorado.

Puccinellia pumila is a species of grass known by the common names dwarf akaligrass and smooth alkali grass. It is native to North America where it grows along the coastline in the northern latitudes, from Alaska across Arctic northern Canada to Greenland. It occurs on the coast of the Pacific Northwest in the United States and it is known from the Kamchatka Peninsula. The grass is only found on the coast, in wetland habitat, beaches, and areas inundated by the highest tides, in saline sand and mud. This perennial grass grows decumbent or erect to a maximum height near 40 centimeters, often remaining much smaller, especially in harsh habitat. It may root at stem nodes which become buried in wet substrate. The inflorescence is a dense or open array of branches bearing spikelets.

<i>Puccinellia simplex</i> Species of grass

Puccinellia simplex is a species of grass known by the common names California alkaligrass and western alkali grass. It is native to California, where it grows in mineral springs and other moist habitat with saline soils in the Central Valley, Mojave Desert, and other areas. It is also known from Utah, but occurrences there are probably introduced. This annual grass grows up to about 25 centimeters tall. The inflorescence is generally a linear structure with parallel branches bearing small spikelets.

<i>Sporobolus airoides</i> Species of plant

Sporobolus airoides is a species of grass known by the common name alkali sacaton. It is native to western North America, including the Western United States west of the Mississippi River, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, and northern and central Mexico. It grows in many types of habitat, often in alkali soils, such as in California desert regions.

<i>Calamovilfa longifolia</i> Species of grass

Calamovilfa longifolia is a species of grass known by the common names prairie sandreed and sand reedgrass. It is native to North America, where it occurs from the Northwest Territories to Ontario in Canada and as far south as New Mexico and Kansas in the United States. There are two varieties, var. longifolia being widespread in the species' range and var. magna being native to the Great Lakes region.

<i>Panicum amarum</i> Species of flowering plant

Panicum amarum is a species of grass known by the common name bitter panicum. It is native to North America, where it is found in coastal regions along the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States and into northeastern Mexico. It also occurs in The Bahamas and in Cuba.

<i>Panicum anceps</i> Species of flowering plant

Panicum anceps is a species of grass known by the common name beaked panicgrass. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it occurs as far north as New Jersey and as far west as Kansas and Texas.

<i>Pappophorum bicolor</i> Species of flowering plant

Pappophorum bicolor is a species of grass known by the common name pink pappusgrass.

<i>Trichloris crinita</i> Species of grass

Trichloris crinita is a species of grass known by the common name false Rhodes grass. It is native to the Americas, where it occurs in the southwestern United States, northern Mexico, and parts of Argentina.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Puccinellia nutkaensis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  2. Grass Manual Treatment Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 State of Alaska Revegetation Manual Archived 2010-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
  4. DeLong, D. W. (1970). An Alaskan leafhopper that lives normally beneath icy tidal submergence. Ohio Journal of Science 70:2 111.