Arctophila fulva (Trin.) N.J. Andersson
Poaceae, grass family.
Gram. Scand. 49. 1852. Incorrectly A. fulva (Trin.) Rupr. (Porsild 1964).
Poa fulva Trin. Mem. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersburg Ser. 6, Sci. Math. 1: 378. 1830. Colpodium fulvum (Trin.) Griseb., in Ledeb., Fl. Ross. 4: 385. 1852.
Type: U.S.A. Alaska: "Eschscoltz Bay" L.K. Chamisso (Holotype: LE, according to Tzvelev 1976).
Glyceria pendulina Laest. In Wahl. Fl. Suec., ed. 2: 1088.
1830. Colpodium pendulinum (Laest.) Griseb. in Ledeb., Fl. Ross. 4: 386.
1852. Arctophila fulva subsp. pendulina (Laest.) A. and D.
Löve, Bot. Not. (Lund.) 114: 49. 1961. Type described from northern
Fennoscandia (Tzvelev 1976).
Arctophila fulva var. similis
(Rupr.) Tzvelev, Zlaki, SSSR, II: 735. 1976. Arctophila fulva subsp.
similis (Rupr.) Tzvelev, Arkt. Fl. SSSR, 2: 169. 1974. Type: USSR, Insula
Kolgujew interior 8 VII, Ruprecht, s.n.? (Holotype LE, Tzvelev 1976).
Further synonymy in Tzvelev (1976).
Vegetative morphology. Plants perennial herbs; 10–100(–150) cm high. Ground-level or under-ground stems horizontal, or vertical and often branched; rhizomatous (in some habitats, rhizomes grow vertically through very soft mud, producing numerous pale yellow roots at the nodes; when the plant grows in a colder climate or in firm substrate, the rhizomes are shorter and oriented more towards the horizontal); elongate, or compact; 1–5 mm wide. Scales present; smooth; 10–40 mm long (disintegrating early); glabrous. Aerial stems erect (somewhat succulent); circular or oval in cross-section; glabrous. Leaves distributed along the stems; alternate; distinctly distichous (especially on non-flowering culms. The upper leaf blades are conspicuously longer than the lower ones.); marcescent. Petioles absent. Sheaths with the margins fused only in the lower part; glabrous; collars present. Ligules present; 1.2–5 mm long; membranous; glabrous; ovate-oblong; apices truncate; erose, or lacerate. Blades 18–230 mm long; 2.5–6 mm wide. Blades spreading; folded in bud; linear; flat; veins parallel; midvein conspicuously larger than the lateral veins, or midvein similar in size to other veins in the leaf. Blades adaxial surface glabrous. Blades abaxial surface glabrous.
Reproductive morphology. Flowering stems present. Flowering culm nodes rooting at the lower nodes; not exposed, or becoming exposed (rarely); number visible 0–2. Inflorescence paniculate; diffuse; 4.5–16.5 cm long; 50–100 mm wide; main axis glabrous. Number of inflorescence branches at lowest node 1–5. Inflorescence primary branches 10–100 mm long; glabrous; with spreading secondary branches. Spikelets pedicellate; disarticulating above the glumes; laterally compressed; ovate; 4–7.5 mm long; 1.5–5 mm wide. Florets per spikelet 3–5(–6). Glumes and lemmas rounded on the back. First glume 0.95–1.1 × the length of the second glume; 0.6–0.65 × spikelet length; (1.8–)2.5–5 mm long; lanceolate; glabrous; margins glabrous; veins 1–3 (lateral veins faint); apex acute (or sub-obtuse). Second glume 0.4–0.9 × as long as the spikelet; almost as long as, or longer than, the lowest floret (but conspicuously shorter than the spikelet); lanceolate; 2.3–5.2 mm long; glabrous; veins 3. Rachilla internode 0.9–1.1 mm long; glabrous. Rachilla not pronounced between the florets; extending beyond the uppermost floret. Callus differentiated (usually with 1–9 stiff hairs); hairs 0.2–0.5 mm long; hairs shorter than the floret. Lemma 2.8–4.3 mm long; ovate, or lanceolate; rounded on the back; surface dull; surface glabrous; veins 3 (sometimes with 2 faint, additional, lateral veins). Lemma apex rounded; entire, or erose and lacerate (with age); glabrous; awnless. Palea well developed; (1–)1.8–4 mm long; with glabrous veins. Perianth reduced to lodicules. Stamens 3. Anthers 1.4–2.5 mm long. Gynoecia superior. Carpels syncarpous; 3. Styles 2. Ovules 1. Fruit sessile. Fruit dry; a caryopsis; indehiscent. Fruit 1.8–2.2 mm long. Seeds 1.
Chromosome information. 2n = 42. 42 (6x). -
Flovik (1938, 1940 Svalbard); Sokolovskaya and Strelkova (1941 northern Russia,
Konguev, 1960); Nygren in Löve and Löve (1948 northern Europe);
Sokolovskaya (1955); Jørgensen et al. (1958 Greenland); Löve and
Löve (1965); Löve and Ritchie (1966 northern Canada); Hedberg (1967
northern Canada); Zhukova (1967, 1969 northern Asia, 1980, southern Chukotka);
Johnson and Packer (1968 northwestern Alaska ); Knaben (1968 Alaska, 2n =
42+2B); Mulligan and Cody (1968a northwestern Canada); Sokolovskaya (1968 north
eastern Asia, Koryak, 1970 north eastern Russia); Zhukova et al. (1973, 1977a
north and north eastern Asia; Zhukova and Tikhonova (1973 Chukotka); Packer and
McPherson (1974 northern Alaska); Krogulevich (1976 northern Siberia); Zhukova
and Petrovsky (1976 western Chukotka); Cayouette & Blondeau (1997 northern
Canada).
(2) 63 (9x). - Zhukova and Petrovsky (1972 north eastern
Asia). Ploidy levels recorded 6x&9x.
Distribution. Northern hemisphere distribution: circumpolar; Greenland, Canada. Low arctic. Range in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago widespread. Arctic Islands: Baffin, Parry Islands (Prince Patrick), Banks, Victoria, Somerset, King William, Southampton, Coats.
Ecology and habitat. Substrates: wet meadows (grass-sedge), around the margins of ponds (and emergent in ponds), marshes, along streams (and in sandy stream beds), river terraces, lake shores, tundra (wet); aquatic, or imperfectly drained moist areas, or moderately well drained areas; calcareous (and marine deposits over acidic bedrock); rocks (sometimes on the rocky bottom of shallow ponds), sand (sometimes stony), silt (often). Habitats: Growing in or at the edge of shallow clear, tundra ponds, lakes, slow moving streams, or wetlands close to sea level, in water bodies where ice disappears early in the summer. Otherwise suitable habitats may be eliminated by the onshore thrusting of lake ice.
Taxon as an environmental indicator. Plant height varies dramatically with different microhabitats. Plants 1–1.5 m tall have been observed in the Mackenzie River delta and in drained lake basins of the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, N.W.T. In the High Arctic plants may be less than 20 cm high and rarely flower. They often occur in similar habitats to Pleuropogon where they can be distinguished from vegetative plants of that species by the upper culm leaves that are longer than the lower ones.
Notes. Tzvelev (1976) reported that A. fulva is one of the best
fodder plants and recommended it for introduction into cultivation in the
northern-most regions of the USSR, "as it maintains a high nutritive value even
at the fruiting stage and can be used as a pasture plant for deer even during
the winter. The species is also good fodder for water birds."
Tzvelev (1976)
noted that in the USSR the High Arctic populations of this species, with smaller
general dimensions (10–30 cm tall), narrower laminas and fewer spikelets
are separated as subspecies similis (Rupr.) Tzvelev but are rather only a
variety, var. similis (Rupr.) Tzvelev, to which not only the type of
Poa similis but also the type of Poa remotiflora belong. No
attempt to distinguish taxa within plants of the genus occurring in North
America has been made, although considerable phenotypic plasticity, apparently
often related to microclimate, has been observed.
Tzvelev (1976) noted that
"the affinity of the genera Arctophila and Dupontia is confirmed
by the existence of the sterile hybrid × Arctodupontia scleroclada
(Rupr.) Tzvelev, 1973, Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 10: 91 ( = Poa
scleroclada Rupr...) described from the Malaya Zemlya tundra...but recently
also found on the Chukotsk peninsula". On the basis of spikelet structure, it
occupies an intermediate position between the parental genera." The intergeneric
hybrid has not been reported from North America, but there are places where the
two genera occur together and where the possibility of hybrid plants should be
investigated, for example, on the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula and Richards Island at
the mouth of the Mackenzie River. However, in Feb. 1999, in a survey of
candidate specimens at LE, the only record of the hybrid was the type collection
(LE) and it is a questionable specimen. All other specimens of
Arctodupontia from the Chukotsk peninsula were re-determined as
Arctophila fulva (R. Elvan, personal cummunication).
Ovenden (1986)
found Arctophila fulva was an early colonizing species on the lake bed of
Illisarvik, the site of a thermokarst lake that was artificially drained in
August 1978. By 1985, the lake bed was dry in most areas and wind erosion was
extensive. The surface material was either sandy peat or organic lake mud,
except along the eastern margin, where it was sandy. Substrate type appeared to
have had little influence on distributional patterns of the colonizing
vegetation. More important factors were probably erosion, surface wetness, and
proximity of the lake-bed margin. Other widespread species included Senecio
congestus Carex aquatilis, Descurainia sophioides,
Tripleurospermum maritimum (Matricaria ambigua), Artemisia
tilesii, and Stellaria longipes. Senecio and Arctophila
formed dense stands around the two small residual ponds. Eroded surfaces have a
very scant cover of Descurainia seedlings and Puccinellia
tussocks. Many elements of Illisarvik's flora are common to other recently
disturbed sites near the Arctic coast of northwestern North America.
Illustrations. • Plant haabitat. Rosemary Buck beside a shallow tundra pool dominated by Arctophila. N.W.T., Banks Island, 74°12'N, 119°37'W. 1 Aug. 1999. • Plants in habitat. Above plants growing in water with floating aquatic leaves in the water and areal stems beginning to emergy. Note long stands on straw on the shoreline. N.W.T. Aulivik National Park, Aiken 99–230. CAN. Note the long pices of detached straw of previous season's growth. • Plants in habitat - Aquatic leaves. Left, plants growing in water with floating aquatic leaves in the water and areal stems beginning to emergy. Note long stands on straw on the shoreline. N.W.T. Aulivik National Park, Aiken 99–230. CAN. • Growing straw. Same location as previous picture. A piece of the stranded straw that had overwintered on the tundra, beginning to grow. Aiken 99–230. CAN. • Experimental plants - Ottawa. Stranded straw placed on moss. All the green leaves developed from previous season's straw brought back from Banks Island to Ottawa. Aiken and Buck 2002. • Growth experiment plant. Sprouting straw that was brought back to Ottawa. Aiken and Buck. 2002. • Straw with rhizome. Background a piece of previous season's straw from which has sprouted a new rhizome with whorls of roots at the nodes. Aiken and Buck 2002. Scale bar in cm. • Plantlet that developed. Plant that developed from sprouting straw kepts on Banks Island at Sachs Harbour. Aiken and Buck. 2002. • Plants in habitat. Rosmay Buck holding a plant developing from previous season's straw. Note relatively little areial growth and well developed rhizomes and underghround growth. Plant collected 74°12'N, 119°37'W in Aulivik National Park. • Longitudinal section of straw. Below: a piece of previous season's straw that has been cut longitudinally near a node. Above: the piece that was removed with new growth curving to the left, a partition at the node of the straw that is otehrwise hollow. Aiken and Buck, 2002. • Stand and habitat. Fertile stand in boreal river swamp. Norway: Finnmark, Kautokeino. Aug. 1988. Photographed by R.Elven. Voucher in HbTROM. • Close-up of plant. Arctic plant in shallow marsh. Note slightly developed panicle, not yet flowering in mid August. Probably mainly reproducing vegetatively. Norway: Svalbard, Sassen. 15.08.1986. Photographed by R.Elven. Voucher in HbO. • Close-up of stem. Close-up of the terminal end of a piece of Arctophila straw " stranded at the edge of the pond on sedge meadow. Straw coloured distichous leaves of the previous season's growth, new reddish leaves of current seasons growth. N.W.T., Banks Island, Aulavik National Park, 73°46.0 N; 119°56'.7 W., 10 July 1999, Aiken 99–230. • Close-up of panicle. Panicle of boreal plant. Norway: Finnmark, Kautokeino saami church village. 26.07.1980. Photographed by R.Elven. Voucher in HbTROM. • Herbarium specimen, medium sized plant with rhizomes. Smallish plants, collected Canada. Nunavut, Southampton Island, Salmon Pond, 1970, G.R. Parker SP-70–169C. (CAN). In the Mackenzie delta this species has plants to 2 m tall. • Herbarium specimen, large plant. Canada. Nunavut, Victoria Island, Cambridge Bay, 1962, Steve Stephens 1125. (CAN). Medium sized plants. Note distichous leaves that are longer towards the top of the culm than at the base. • Herbarium specimen, tiny plants. Relatively tiny plants that resemble Dupontia,when the rhizomes are not prominent. Plants like this are found in areas where geese have been grazing. Canada. Nunavut, Victoria Island, Cambridge Bay, 1987, S. Edlund and G. Argus 12745. (CAN). • Type speciemen of a forma. • Distribution map.
Cite this publication as: ‘S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, C.L. McJannet, L.J. Gillespie, R.L. Boles, G.W. Argus, J.M. Gillett, P.J. Scott, R. Elven, M.C. LeBlanc, A.K. Brysting and H. Solstad. 1999 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 29th April 2003. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/’. Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) should also be cited (see References).
