Species: Danthonia californica Boland.

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Danthonia californica Boland.

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Poaceae

Genus:

Danthonia

Species Synonyms:

Danthonia americana Scribn.
Danthonia californica var. americana (Scribn.) A.S. Hitchc.
Danthonia californica var. palousensis St. John
Danthonia californica var. piperi St. John

Common Names:

California oatgrass

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

southern British Columbia – southern Alberta – southwestern Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan:

southwestern Saskatchewan; Cypress Hills – Swift Current

Ecoregion:

Cypress Upland, Mixed Grassland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

open, upland meadow slopes

Associated Species:

big bluegrass, death camas, denseflower knotweed, graceful cinquefoil, plains rough fescue, shortbeak sedge, shrubby cinquefoil

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Threatened

Nature Conservancy Status:

G5 S2

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

California oatgrass is threatened because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. It is somewhat regionally restricted and population sizes vary. Possible threats have been identified for this species.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

30 – 90 cm tall

Roots:

fibrous, rhizomes lacking

Stems:

tufted, hairless, tending to break at the nodes

Leaves:

10 – 30 cm long, 1 – 3 mm wide, flat or rolled, uppermost leaves strongly divergent to reflexed at maturity, hairless to sparsely hairy; sheaths hairless; ligules of hairs

Inflorescence:

branched, 3 – 8 cm long, narrow; branches slender, erect or spreading, flexible; flower stalks on lowest branch longer than spikelets, may be crinkled

Spikelets:

2 – 5, 2 – 2.5 cm long

Flowers:

glumes 1 – 1.5 cm long; hardened thickening below lemma hairy; lemma 8 – 10 mm long, apical teeth awned; lemma awn 1.5 – 2 cm long, twisted, bent

Fruits:

grain

DANTHONIA KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Lemmas 2.5 – 6 mm long, hairy	D. spicata
1 Lemmas 3 – 11 mm long, hairy or hairless	2

2 Lower inflorescence branches stiff; flower stalks shorter than to as long as spikelets	3
2 Lower inflorescence branches flexible; flower stalks generally longer than spikelets	4

3 Spikelets 1 (rarely 2); lemmas 5.5 – 11 mm; mature stems separating at the nodes, rarely more than 25 cm tall	D. unispicata
3 Spikelets 5 – 10 in a branched inflorescence; lemmas 3 – 6 mm long; mature stems not separating at the nodes, usually more than 25 cm tall	D. intermedia

4 Uppermost stem leaves divergent at maturity; inflorescence narrow; glumes about 1 cm long	D. californica
4 Uppermost stem leaves erect to ascending; inflorescence branched; glumes about 2 cm long	D. parryi