Notes on Calamagrostis epigeios

Calamagrostis epigeios (L.) Roth, morph (Finland, Vantaa, Riipilä, 2001). – Image: Harri Harmaja (scanned from dried specimen). – This morph deviates from typical C. epigeios (Poaceae) in that the panicle lacks anthocyanin pigment and smells disagreeable when fresh (see below), the culm is hairy immediately below the panicle, and the glumes are very narrow. Some stands of this kind of plants grew in a fairly eutrophic, wet swamp ('nevakorpi'). Silver birch (Betula pubescens) dominated among the trees and so did Carex lasiocarpa in the field layer; other plants included Carex flava, Dactylorhiza incarnata ssp. incarnata and Ranunculus lingua.
    In the same days, another odd-looking plant was found in this locality with an exceptionally high diversity of Calamagrostis (Vantaa, Riipilä). It possessed undehisced anthers and somewhat resembled C. lapponica which, however, is unknown in this part of the country. Because of the rather acuminate glumes, the very infrequent hybrid C. epigeios ´ stricta is apparently concerned. The habitat was a bit more eutrophic spot in the swamp, resembling rich fen: in addition to Dactylorhiza incarnata, also Carex dioica, C. viridula and Trichophorum alpinum grew quite near-by.

    Some amount of variability is generally known in C. epigeios. The leaf sheaths  may be hairy (mostly gklabrous) and (especially in  the north) the plant may grow in peatland instead of the "normal" mineral soils. However, these features, also observed by myself, are probably not significant taxonomically.
    In addition to the above notes, I have noted the following features that possibly represent more interesting variability:

• Exceptionally tall plants (culm, leaves, panicle, spikelets).
• Both surface of leaves being somewhat hairy (not appearing to result from any hybridization).
• Smell of fresh panicle being disagreeable, like that of Stachys sylvatica (typically, the panicles are inodorous). Such stands have been found in a few localities; the plants mostly do not deviate in other respects. Could the smell be caused by the activities of some endophytic fungus?

Created August 30, 2004.