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| GRASSES
OF THE COLUMBIA BASIN OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Apera is a small genus with only three species world-wide, and is native to Europe and Asia. In British Columbia there is only one species, Apera interrupta, and this was formerly included in the genus Agrostis. Firm lemmas, a long awn originating below the end of the lemma, and a well-developed palea are the distinguishing features of Apera. The name comes from the Greek a= not, and peros = maimed, possibly referring to the long awn.
Leaves and Stem: The sheaths are open and there are no auricles. The ligules are 2-5 mm high, blunt, but very ragged along the upper edge. The flat or folded leaf blades are 1-3 mm wide. Flowerhead and Flowers: The 5-10-cm-long flowerhead is narrow -- almost resembling a spike -- but the branches are pressed close to the stem axis. The first glume is ¼ the length of the second glume. The second glume is longer than flower. The 2-mm-long lemma has an awn that is attached below the tip and is 6-7 mm long. The flowerhead appears soft and silky because of the lemma.
Similar Species: Dense Silky Bentgrass resembles Agrostis sp. Hitchcock (1969) places it in the Agrostis genus, but Douglas et al. (1994) have placed it in a separate genus. Their treatment separates Apera from Agrostis based on the lemma awn. In Apera the lemma awn is longer than 5.5 mm arising from just below the tip -- whereas in Agrostis it arises at or below the mid-length. The callus of Agrostis can also be minutely bearded.
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Copyright © Royal
BC Museum |
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Habitat: Dense Silky Bentgrass grows in dry, disturbed sites
and, although introduced from Europe, it has spread widely in dry
waste areas. In the Columbia Basin region Dense Silky Bentgrass
occurs at Creston, Cranbrook and Kikomun Creek as well as along
the Kootenay River.