CALAMAGROSTIS PORTERI ssp. INSPERATA (Swallen)

Bartley's Reed Grass

 

 

FAMILY: Gramineae (Poaceae)

SYNONYM: Calamagrostis Insperata Swallen  

HABIT: Herbaceous caespitose perennial to 1 m.; flowering July-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Very similar, and related to Calamagrostis porteri. Differs from other Calamagrostis species by technical characters.

TOTAL RANGE: Reported from only one county in Arkansas, two Missouri counties and two Ohio counties.

STATE RANGE: Four known populations, one in Jackson County and three in Vinton County. All populations were extant in 1979.

STATE STATUS: 1980 to present: Endangered.  Under review (Category 2) for Federal listing (Federal Register, November 28, 1983).

HABITAT: Dry upland areas in sun or partial shade. The Jackson County population is under a powerline, and the Vinton County populations are in upland oak woods.

HAZARDS: Perhaps herbicide treatment along the powerline, and severe disturbance from logging operations in the woodland. Also overshading by woody species as the forest matures.

RECOVERY POTENTIAL: Unknown. Viable fruit production may be rare, and reproduction may be primarily by vegetative rhizomes.

INVENTORY GUIDELINES: Mature flowering material is needed for identification. Collect the underground parts and note density of basal tufts. Avoid over-collecting.

COMMENTS: This grass is possibly more frequent than the records indicate. It could be overlooked due to its similarity to other Calamagrostis species. It should be sought throughout southeastern Ohio.
This taxon has recently been reduced to a subspecies of C. porteri (Greene, 1984) (see Synonym). It is here retained as a species pending a more general acceptance of Greene's treatment.

SELECTED REFERENCES:

 

Greene, C.W.  1984. Sexual and apomictic reproduction in Calamagrostis (Gramineae) from eastern North America. Am. J. Bot 71: 285-293.

Hitchcock, A.S. 1951. Manual of grasses of the United States. Ed. 2, rev. by A. Chase, U.S. Dep. Agr. Misc. Publ. 200. 1051 p.

Spooner, D.M. 1981. Status reports for 20 Ohio plant taxa considered for listing as Federal endangered or threatened. Ohio Dept. Natural Resources, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, Columbus, OH. n.p.

Spooner, D.M., A.W. Cusick, B. Andreas, and D. Anderson. 1983. Notes on Ohio vascular plants previously considered for listing as Federally endangered or threatened species. Castanea 48: 250- 258.

Swallen, J.R. 1935. Two new grasses from the United States and Mexico. J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 25: 413-414.

Van Schaack, G.B. 1954. Calamagrostis insperata in Missouri. Rhodora 56: 43.

 

Division of Natural Areas and Preserves

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

 

Created: 4/1984 David Spooner, James Burns