Elymus hystrix L. var. piedmontanus Poindexter & Weakley

Locations ofElymus hystrix L. var. piedmontanus Poindexter & Weakley in Virginia

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Detail

Family
Poaceae
Botanical Name
Elymus hystrix L. var. piedmontanus Poindexter & Weakley
Common Name
Piedmont Bottlebrush Grass
Synonym(s)
Flora of Virginia Name/Status
Elymus hystrix L. var. piedmontanus Poindexter & Weakley
Comments
Elymus hystrix var. piedmontanus was newly described by Weakley et al. (2017) in J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 11, pp. 317-318. It can be distinguished from var. hystrix by its long, subequal, paired glumes below most spikelets. Although var. piedmontanus is sympatric with the nominate var. and occupies similar habitats, the authors consider it morphologically and phytogeographically compelling, with a distribution strongly centered in the Southeastern Piedmont.
The significance and validity of this var. merit further investigation. Recent field work has demonstrated that the two vars. are completely sympatric in the Virginia Piedmont and occupy the same types of habitats. However, discrete colonies appear to always consist of one or the other var., although colonies of the two vars. sometimes occur in very close proximity.
Habitat
In much the same range of habitats as E. hystrix var. hystrix, but mostly restricted to the Piedmont. Probably frequent to common in the Piedmont (although under-collected in the northern part at present); rare in the Coastal Plain and mountains.
Native Status
Native

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