Puccinellia Parl.
Poaceae, grass family.
Fl. Ital. 1: 366.1850
Vegetative morphology. Plants perennial herbs; 1–17–40 cm high; caespitose, or not caespitose. Ground-level or under-ground stems horizontal, or not developed horizontally or vertically; stoloniferous. Aerial stems erect, or decumbent, or prostrate; circular or oval in cross-section; glabrous. Leaves distributed along the stems, or in a basal tuft; alternate; not distinctly distichous; marcescent. Prophylls 4–12–30 mm long; with smooth veins, or with scabrous veins; with pronounced keels, or lacking pronounced keels. Petioles absent. Sheaths with the margins fused only in the lower part, or with the margins not fused; glabrous; collars present. Ligules present; 0.3–1.7–4 mm long; membranous; glabrous, or hairy (rarely); lanceolate, or ovate-oblong; apices acute, or obtuse; entire, or erose, or lacerate. Blades 10–120–160 mm long; 0.2–1–4 mm wide. Blades appressed to the stem, or spreading, or reflexed; rolled in bud (usually), or folded in bud (Puccinellia vahliana); linear; without auricles; flat, or folded, or involute; veins parallel; midvein conspicuously larger than the lateral veins, or midvein similar in size to other veins in the leaf; bulliform cells in distinct rows on either side of the midvein (Puccinellia vahliana), or without bulliform cells in a distinct row on either side of the midvein (usually). Blades adaxial surface glabrous, or scabrous. Blades abaxial surface glabrous, or scabrous.
Reproductive morphology. Flowering stems present. Flowering culm nodes rooting at the lower nodes, or not rooting at the lower nodes; not exposed, or becoming exposed; number visible 0–2. Flag leaf sheaths not inflated. Inflorescence paniculate; diffuse; linear, or oblong, or lanceolate, or ovate; 0.35–4.5–13 cm long; 2–20–130 mm wide; main axis glabrous, or scabrous. Number of inflorescence branches at lowest node 1–7. Inflorescence primary branches 1–20–70 mm long; glabrous, or scabrous; with appressed secondary branches, or with spreading secondary branches. Spikelets pedicellate; disarticulating above the glumes; laterally compressed; lanceolate; 3–6–9.5 mm long; 0.7–2.2–4.5 mm wide. Florets per spikelet 2–7. First glume 0.4–0.65–1.1 × the length of the second glume; 0.1–0.27–0.7 × spikelet length; 0.7–1.7–3.5 mm long; oblong, or lanceolate, or ovate; glabrous; margins glabrous, or scabrous; veins 1–3; apex acuminate, or acute, or obtuse. Second glume 0.4 × as long as the spikelet or less, or 0.4–0.9 × as long as the spikelet (in Puccinellia vahliana); shorter than the lowest floret, or almost as long as, or longer than, the lowest floret; oblong, or lanceolate, or ovate, or elliptic, or oblanceolate; 1.3–2.3–3.9 mm long; glabrous; veins 3–5. Rachilla internode 0.1–0.9–1.5 mm long; glabrous, or hairy. Rachilla pronounced between the florets, or not pronounced between the florets; terminating in a vestigial floret, or extending beyond the uppermost floret. Callus differentiated, or not differentiated; hairs 0–0.17–0.5 mm long; hairs shorter than the floret. Lemma 2–3.3–5.2 mm long; oblong, or ovate, or lanceolate, or elliptic, or obovate; keeled, or rounded on the back; surface shiny, or dull; surface glabrous, or sparsely scabrous, or hairy; surface with trichomes on veins only, or on and between the veins (when present); veins 3–7 (the mid-vein reaching to the apex, the other veins not reaching the apex). Lemma apex acute, or rounded, or truncate; entire, or erose, or lacerate; awnless. Palea well developed; 2–3–4.8 mm long; with glabrous veins, or with scabrous veins, or with hairy veins. Perianth reduced to lodicules. Stamens 3. Anthers 0.6–1.3–2.5 mm long. Gynoecia superior. Carpels syncarpous; 3. Styles 2. Ovules 1. Fruit sessile. Fruit dry; a caryopsis; indehiscent. Fruit 1–1.6–2.6 mm long. Seeds 1.
Chromosome information. 2n = 14, 21, 28, 42, 56.
Notes. Restricted generic description combining data for the taxa occurring in the eastern Canadian Arctic Archipelago, using INTKEY.
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).