Deschampsia podophora (Pilg.) Saarela, PhytoKeys 87: 90. 2017. Deyeuxia podophora (Pilg.) Sodiro, Rev. Col. Nac. Vicente Rocafuerte 11: 79. 1930. Calamagrostis podophora Pilg., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 42 (1): 66. 1908.

Sylvester, Steven P., Soreng, Robert J., Bravo-Pedraza, William J., Cuta-Alarcon, Lia E., Giraldo-Canas, Diego, Aguilar-Cano, Jose & Peterson, Paul M., 2019, Paramo Calamagrostis s. l. (Poaceae): An updated list and key to the species known or likely to occur in paramos of NW South America and southern Central America including two new species, one new variety and five new records for Colombia, PhytoKeys 122, pp. 29-78 : 29

Deschampsia podophora (Pilg.) Saarela, PhytoKeys 87: 90. 2017. Deyeuxia podophora (Pilg.) Sodiro, Rev. Col. Nac. Vicente Rocafuerte 11: 79. 1930. Calamagrostis podophora Pilg., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 42 (1): 66. 1908.

Type.

PERU. Junín: Berge Westlich von Huacapistana [Prov. Tarma, in montibus prope Huacapistana ad occid. in stepposis], 3500 m alt., 18 Jan. 1903, A. Weberbauer 2231 (lectotype, designated by Vega and Rúgolo de Agrasar (2013: 28): BAA (BAA00000767 [image!]) fragm. ex B; isolectotype: US (US00149282!)).

Description.

Tufted perennial with vertical rhizomes forming short solitary tufts to medium-sized tussocks, with leaf blades mostly basal with inflorescences usually greatly exerted from basal foliage or both basal and cauline with some cauline blades often surpassing the inflorescence. Tillers intravaginal. Culms 20 –75(– 110) cm tall, to 3 mm wide, erect, striate, nodes and internodes terete, smooth and lustrous; nodes hidden in the sheaths with no nodes exposed at flowering; uppermost internodes 20-32.5 cm long, as long or longer than the sheath. Sheaths striate; flag leaf sheaths 22-38 cm long; upper culm sheaths lax, glabrous and smooth; basal leaf sheaths 4.5-20 cm long, longer than the internodes, glabrous and smooth. Ligules not stipulate; upper culm ligules 7.5-22 mm long, strongly decurrent with the sheaths, long acuminate, membranous to slightly coriaceous, without notable lateral keels, apices entire, erose or narrowly bifid, sometimes fimbriate, abaxial surface smooth; ligules of innovations 4 –15(– 20) mm long, slightly to strongly and broadly decurrent with the sheaths, long acuminate, membranous to slightly coriaceous, lateral keels sometimes notable, apices entire or a narrow bifid point, sometimes slightly erose, abaxial surface smooth or sometimes slightly scabrous at the apex. Leaf blades (2.5 –)5– 22 cm long, 0.6-7 mm wide when opened out, flat, conduplicate or involute/convolute and filiform and cylindrical to subelliptical in outline, sometimes opening out to become flat at their apices, straight and erect to slightly curved, glabrous, isomorphic or more or less dimorphic, when dimorphic those of the innovations filiform and cylindrical to subelliptic in outline while those of the upper flowering culm are usually wider and flat, conduplicate or convolute towards the apices, abaxially smooth, adaxially smooth or lightly scaberulous along the veins, sometimes becoming densely scabrous towards the apex, edges smooth or slightly scaberulous, veins usually pronounced, numerous and tightly packed, apex obtuse to slightly pungent; flag leaf blades 2.9-6 cm long, 2-7 mm wide when opened out. Panicles 10-25 cm long, 3-8 cm wide, open to slightly condensed, oval, greenish-purple with spikelets tending to be laxly glomerate on the distal half of the inflorescence branches with the proximal half usually lacking spikelets, largely exerted to moderately included in the uppermost sheath and/or blade; main panicle axis terete to slightly compressed, usually with a narrow groove running down both sides, glabrous, smooth to lightly scaberulous, internodes tending to be long, lower internode 3-11.5 cm long; panicle branches 1.5-8 cm long, bearing 10 to over 50 spikelets per branch, flexuous, spreading, pendulous or divergent at a 45° angle to slightly ascending, verticillate in clusters of 2 or 3, terete or slightly grooved, glabrous, almost smooth to scabrous; pedicels 0.5-2.5 mm long, usually shorter than the spikelets, glabrous, lightly to densely scabrous. Spikelets 1-flowered, sometimes with a rudimentary floret at the apex of the rachilla that appears like a slightly broader section of the rachilla covered in sparse diminute hairs, not strongly laterally compressed, disarticulating above the glumes with the florets disarticulating from the apex of the extended rachilla internode, this remaining attached to the glumes. Glumes 3.5-5.5 mm long, subequal, the lower glume 0.2-0.6 mm shorter than the upper glume, lanceolate, membranous, purplish-green, lustrous, smooth or sometimes lightly scabrous throughout the keel of the upper glume; lower glumes 1-veined, apex acuminate or bidentate, less frequently finely denticulate or erose; upper glumes 3-veined, lateral veins either short < ½ length of glume or reaching from ½ to 2/3 the length of the glume, apex usually acuminate, sometimes finely denticulate. Floret stipitate, much shorter than the glumes, never passing the apex of the lower glume. Lowermost rachilla internode 0.4-0.7 mm long, prolonged between the glumes and the floret, often slightly geniculate at its apex and bent in a ca. 30°-45° angle, slightly dilated at its apex, usually glabrous, less often with a few long hairs ca. 0.7 mm long emerging from it, smooth. Lemmas 2.4-3.5 mm long, of the same consistency as the glumes, light green with purple tinges towards apex, becoming golden at maturity, glabrous, smooth with the keel apex rarely scaberulous, apex truncate and denticulate, usually with 4 clearly distinguished teeth, 0.3-0.5 mm long and erose between the teeth, 5-veined, veins not evident; awns 1.5-4 mm long, sometimes absent, inserted in the middle or lower third of the lemma, usually as long as the lemma or passing the glume apex by as much as 1.5 mm. Paleas 0.5-0.8 mm shorter than the lemma, of the same consistency and colour, keels sparsely scabrous and notable, apex bidentate or 4-dentate. Callus rounded, short, with a basal tuft of hairs 0.5-2.2 mm long, reaching from 1/3 the length of the lemma to almost the lemma apex. Rachilla 1.5-2.5 mm long, reaching from 2/3 to 4/5 the length of the lemma, with copious short to medium-sized hairs 0.5-1.4 mm long, the hairs reaching from 4/5 to sometimes passing the apex of the lemma, apex of rachilla sometimes clavate. Lodicules 2, ca. 0.5 mm long, membranous, acute. Stamens 3, anthers (0.7 –)1.2– 1.9 mm long. Ovary ca. 0.5 mm long, small, styles 2, stigmas plumose, short. Caryopses 1-1.4 mm long, dorsally slightly gibbose, surcus not noticeable, embryo short, hilum basal, oval; endosperm dry.

Distribution and ecology.

Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela. The ecology of this species is distinct compared to many Calamagrostis s.l. species as it is usually found in very damp, swamp-like conditions by the side of high-elevation lakes or watercourses in Andean páramo or jalca vegetation, less often in humid open páramo.

Other specimens examined.

COLOMBIA. Boyacá: Below Las Playas de Ritacuba in the Cocuy mountains above Guican, on the banks of a fast-flowing stream coming off the snow fields and passing through thinly vegetated moraine covered country, 4100 m alt., 24 Jun. 1984, J.R.I. Wood 4457 (K). Cauca: Purace National Park, Laguna de San Rafael, in open boggy páramo in the lake basin, particularly in banks by ditches, 3300 m alt., 6 Apr. 1985, J.R.I. Wood 4803 (K); Volcan Purace, above Pilimbala, frequent in bog pools in high páramo, 3700-4000 m alt., 5 Apr. 1985, J.R.I. Wood 4787 (K).

ECUADOR. Pichincha: road Olmedo-Laguna San Marcos, W of the pass, 0°5'N; 78°1-2'W, 3600 m alt., 10 Jul. 1980, B. Øllgaard et al. 34406 (K); Along road to Refugio, Volcan Cayembe, páramo and swamp, 00°04'S; 77°54'W, 4300 m alt., 2 Mar. 1988, S. Renvoize 70510 (K). Napo: Eastern Cordillera, Llanganati Mountains, by Lake Aucacocha, on stream sides in bog, forming large tussocks up to 20 cm across, 3750 m alt., 16 Aug. 1969, P.J. Edwards 127 (K); Eastern Cordillera, Llanganati Mountains, by Lake Aucacocha, growing in the wettest area of the bog, in clusters of tufts, sheath bases submerged in peat, 3700 m alt., Aug. 1969, P.J. Edwards 62 (K).

Notes.

Deschampsia podophora has been traditionally treated as belonging to Calamagrostis subsect. Stylagrostis due to the presence of an extended rachilla internode between the glumes and the floret. Deschampsia podophora is closely related to D. parodiana (= Calamagrostis ligulata ) and has been placed as a synonym of this in previous works ( Escalona 1988a, 1988b; Tovar 1993; Luteyn 1999; Bono 2010; Briceño 2010). The principal differentiating characters that separate Deschampsia parodiana from D. podophora are the smaller anthers, 0.4-0.5 mm long (vs. (0.7 –)1.2–1.5(– 1.9) mm long in D. podophora ) and the shorter rachilla, 1-1.2 mm long, that is sparsely pilose with hairs not usually reaching the apex of the palea (vs. (1.2 –)1.4– 2.5 mm long, with copious hairs that usually surpass the lemma in D. podophora ). Characters of shape and density of the inflorescence mentioned in Laegaard (1998: 27) were found to be not good for differentiating the two species. While D. parodiana only has a lax open inflorescence with long pendant branches and spikelets glomerate on the distal part of the branches, D. podophora exhibits both denser semi-spikelike inflorescences with inflorescence branches having spikelets from the base as well as open inflorescences with pendulous branches and spikelets glomerate on the distal part of the branches like that of D. parodiana .

Some specimens from Colombia were found to be generally larger than those from Ecuador, in terms of the number and length of the culms with mainly cauline leaf blades that were longer and wider. These specimens had a habit appearance similar to var. mutica being larger tussock-forming plants with multiple culms and inflorescences held within sheaths.