Marsh Arrowgrass

The Marsh Arrow-grass usually grows in fresh water habitats in the mountain¬ous regions of W. Pakistan. A good forage plant for cattles, sheep and goats.

Erect perennial with (10-) 20-50 cm. long scapes, usually in fresh water marshes or water channels, glabrous, somewhat fleshy; plant base looking somewhat bulb-like with dense fibrous roots, but rhizome long, slender. Leaves linear, semi-terete, usually deeply furrowed on upper surface towards the base, usually about half as long as the scapes, 2-3 mm. wide, sheathing at the base; sheath 5-8 cm. long, slightly broader than the blade. Scapes elongating in fruit; racemes 30-80-flowered, terminal, much elongated after flowering, usually 20-30 cm. long in fruit. Flowers c. 3 mm. across. Perianth segments 1.5-2 (—2.5) mm. long, 1-1.5 (—2) mm broad, elliptic-ovate, greenish or whitish with usually purplish margins, glabrous. Stamens about half the length of perianth segments, almost sessile; anthers purplish, 0.5 mm. long. Pedicel stiff, filiform, 3-5 mm long, ascend¬ing, somewhat appressed to the axis in fruit but shorter than it. Fruit linear¬clavate or oblong-linear, tapering towards the base, (6—) 8-10 mm. long, 1 mm broad, ± appressed to the axis, glabrous, separating into three mericarps (each with 1 fertile and 1 sterile carpel together) from below upwards when ripe leaving a triangular axis but mericarps remaining connate with stigma after dehiscence; each mericarp somewhat terete, subulate, tapering-aristate at the base, 1-seeded and 1-loculed; seed nearly as long as the carpel, brown, linear-ellipsoid.

Plants with fibrous strands of leaves at base, 9--42.5 cm. Leaves erect from sheath, shorter than scapes, 6--24.5 cm; sheath 3.5--5 cm  1.5--5 mm, ligule not hoodlike, unlobed; blade 0.8--2.9 mm wide, apex acute. Inflorescences: scape often purple near base, mostly exceeding leaves, 5.5--27.2 cm  1--2.1 mm; racemes 5.1--21.4 cm  2--5 mm; pedicel 0.4--4.5  0.1--0.5 mm. Flowers: tepals elliptic, 1.1--1.6  0.7--0.9 mm, apex round; pistils 6, 3 fertile, 3 sterile. Fruits: fruiting receptacles with wings; schizocarps linear, 7--8.3  0.8--1.2 mm; mericarps linear, weakly ridged abaxially, 6.5--8.5  0.5--1.5 mm, beak erect, 0.3 mm. 2n = 24.

N. temperate regions, Himalaya & Tibet.

Distribution: Europe, Asia, N. Africa and America.

Greenland; St. Pierre and Miquelon; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Nunavut, Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon; Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Colo., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Maine, Mich., Minn., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.H., N.Mex., N.Y., N.Dak., Ohio, Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.Dak., Utah, Wash., Wis., Wyo.; Mexico; South America; Eurasia.

2900-4700 m

Fl. Per. May-Sept.

Flowering summer and early fall.

Coastal and mountain marsh areas and moist alkaline meadows; 0--3700m.