Koeleria spicata (Linnaeus) Barberá, Quintanar, Soreng, & P.M. Peterson ssp. spicata

Locations ofKoeleria spicata (Linnaeus) Barberá, Quintanar, Soreng, & P.M. Peterson ssp. spicata in Virginia

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Detail

Family
Poaceae
Botanical Name
Koeleria spicata (Linnaeus) Barberá, Quintanar, Soreng, & P.M. Peterson ssp. spicata
Common Name
Narrow False Oats, Alpine Oatgrass, Spike Trisetum
Synonym(s)
Trisetum spicatum (L.) Richter
Flora of Virginia Name/Status
Trisetum spicatum (L.) Richter
Comments
A circumboreal species of arctic and alpine habitats, known in VA from a single high-elevation site, where significantly disjunct from its principal northern range (also historically disjunct to Roan Mtn, North Carolina); undoubtedly a Pleistocene (Wisconsin) relict in Virginia.

This species has been long been known as Trisetum spicatum. Recently, Barberá et al. (Phytoneuron 2019-46: 1-13) built on previous phylogentic work that found Trisetum as traditionally treated polyphyletic, transferred a large section of taxa in Trisetum to Koeleria, and renamed quite a few taxa.
Habitat
Shelves of a massive, north-facing metabasalt cliff at ca. 1160 m. elev. Rare, known only from Hawksbill Mountain on the Northern Blue Ridge (Page County, Shenandoah National Park).
Native Status
Native

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