Agrostis foliata Hook. f., Bot. Antarct. Voy. I. (Fl. Antarct.). 1: 95. 1845

Sylvester, Steven P., Cuta-Alarcon, Lia E., Bravo-Pedraza, William J. & Soreng, Robert J., 2020, Agrostis and Podagrostis (Agrostidinae, Poaceae) from paramos of Boyaca, Colombia: synoptic taxonomy including a key to Colombian species, PhytoKeys 151, pp. 107-160 : 107

Agrostis foliata Hook. f., Bot. Antarct. Voy. I. (Fl. Antarct.). 1: 95. 1845 Fig. 5

= Agrostis nigritella Pilg., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 25 (5): 713-714. 1898. Type: Ecuador. Chimborazo: in páramos montis Antisana ad Cerro de la Media Luna, 4400 m alt., no date, M.A. Stuebel 231 (holotype: [not found]; isotype: US (US75324 fragm.)).

= Agrostis stuebelii Pilg., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 25 (5): 714. 1898. Type: Colombia. Tolima: in monte ignivomo Tolima fere ad nivis limitem adscendens, no date, Stuebel 198 (lectotype, designated here: US ex B (US00902474!); isolectotype: US ex B (US00902473!)). Syntype: Colombia. In monte ignivomo Purace copiose, ubi usque adcineris conum reperiteur, no date, Stuebel 298 (SI ex US (SI000509 [image!], US ex B (US75325)).

Type.

Colombia [Ecuador]. Crescit in cacumine monte Pichincha [On Pichincha at the limits of perpetual snow], 15676 ft [4778 m alt. based on protologue; 15000 ft written on isotypes], no date [21 Jan. 1856 on GH isotype], W. Jameson 229 (holotype: K; isotypes: GH (GH00221375 [image!]), P (P00740550 [image!]), US (US843246 fragm. ex K)).

Description.

Perennial herbs, tussock-forming or laxly to densely tufted, usually with short ascending rhizomes. Tillers extravaginal and intravaginal, with cataphylls usually present. Culms 15-30 cm tall, erect, rigid and thickened, with 0 nodes exerted at flowering, smooth or scaberulous. Leaves usually more-or-less evenly spread along the culm, sometimes congested basally, glabrous, usually densely scabrous; ligules 3-8 mm long, of upper culm 4-8 mm long, usually scarious (at least in part), triangular and obtuse to acute, moderately to strongly decurrent with the sheath, abaxial surface scaberulous to scabrous; blades 3-12 cm long, 2-6 mm wide when opened out, flat or folded, sometimes somewhat involute towards their apices, straight or slightly recurved, subcoriaceous to coriaceous, surfaces and margins usually densely scabrous throughout, apices naviculate-acute. Panicles 5-12.7 cm long × 1-1.7(-2.5) cm wide, densely congested, spikelike, sometimes interrupted towards the base, usually exerted from the basal foliage or sometimes subincluded, lateral branches with spikelets usually present almost to the base, upper lateral branches short and held close to the central inflorescence axis, central axis and panicle branches moderately to densely scabrous; pedicels 0.7-4 mm long, usually shorter than their spikelets, not obviously dilated at their apex, scabrous. Spikelets (not including awn) 3-4.2 mm long; glumes equal or subequal, 1-veined, keels smooth or lightly scabrous, surfaces smooth, apices acuminate; floret usually c. ½ the length of the glumes, rarely slightly longer; calluses pilose with 2 sparse tufts of short hairs on the lateral sides; lemmas 1.5-2 mm long, glabrous, smooth, 5-veined, apex truncate, denticulate, awned, awn 2-2.8 mm long, inserted in the lower ½ of the dorsal keel, exerted from the glumes, geniculate, twisted, persistant; paleas absent or 0.1-0.2 mm long, < ¼ the length of the lemma; rachilla absent; anthers (0.5-)0.6-0.8(-1) mm long.

Distribution and ecology.

Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru. High-elevation superpáramo and subnival vegetation in the puna grasslands of Peru. In Boyacá, found in superpáramos,> 4300 m alt.

Other specimens examined.

Colombia. Boyacá: Munic. Chiscas, Páramo de Chacaritas, arribando a la morrena, 6.61779N, 72.38899W, 4354 m alt., 4 Mar. 2018, S.P. Sylvester 3130 (FMB, K, US); Munic. Chiscas, Páramo el Penon, Chiscas, 6.63012N, 72.40073W, 4172 m alt., vegetación de pajonal frailejonal, páramo húmedo, 3 Mar. 2018, S.P. Sylvester 3151 (FMB, K, US); Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, 4600 m alt., tufted grass in loose soil, 6 Aug. 1957, P.J. Grubb 306 (US2304908; US2433280); Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, alto valle de Las Lagunillas, [6.3469N, 72.33W], 4000-4300 m alt., 12 Sept. 1938, J. Cuatrecasas 1466 (US2780332); 1467 (US1772999); 1474 (US1773004; US2855551); Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Páramo Cóncavo, Superpáramo, abrigo rocoso, denominado Cueva de los Hombres, 3 km aprox. al N del morro Pulpito del Diablo, [6.3995N, 72.3122W], 4350 m alt., gramínea cerca del abrigo, asociada con Senecio guicanensis , 28 Feb. 1973, A.M. Cleef 8609 (US2785677); Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Quebrada Bocatoma, superpáramo 2 km al E de la Laguna Pintada, [6.4795N, 72.3167W], 4280 m alt., playa arenosa húmeda con gramíneas, Ditrichum sp. y algas terrestres, gramínea muy común, 5 Oct. 1972, A.M. Cleef 5862 (US3207543); Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Quebrada Bocatoma, superpáramo, [6.4795N, 72.3167W], 4310 m alt., playa arenosa húmeda con gramíneas y cianófitos terrestres de la lagunita central, gramínea común, 04 Oct. 1972, A.M. Cleef 5792 (US2797551); Caldas: Nevado del Ruiz, superpáramo, vallecitos poco húmedos, Arenales 1 km al SW del Refugio cerca del empalme de la carretera, [4.8956N, 75.3508W], 4680 m alt., 18 Mar. 1972, A.M. Cleef 2398 (US2785739).

Notes.

Two syntypes of A. stuebelii were noted in Pilger’s protologue of Agrostis stuebelii . We lectotypify the name on the best material at US that includes one flowering and one non-flowering plant, with the bases of the plants well preserved. We were unable to locate the two duplicates of the lectotype at B, from which the US material was taken.

Similar species.

See notes under A. boyacensis . Agrostis tolucensis can sometimes have leaf blades wider than usual (up to 5 mm wide when opened out), but can usually be differentiated by a) the flag ligules being shorter, 2-4(-6.2) mm long (vs. 4-8 mm long in A. foliata ); b) the spikelets often being shorter, 2-3(-3.6) mm long (vs. 3-4.2 mm long in A. foliata ); c) florets usually over half the length of the glumes (vs. usually c. ½ the length of the glumes, rarely slightly longer in A. foliata ); and d) primary panicle branches often shorter, 0.5-1.5 cm long, (vs. up to 7 cm long in A. foliata ), among other characteristics.

Figures

Figure 5. Agrostis foliata A whole plant B flag ligule and portion of inflorescence. Image A Sylvester 3151 (FMB) B Grubb 306 (US 2304908).