''Calamagrostis purpurascens'', is a perennial grass commonly known as purple reedgrass, purple pinegrass, or alpine reedgrass. It grows 30 to tall.

Description

''Calamagrostis purpurascens'' is a large, clump forming, perennial grass; growing 30-80 cm (12-31 in.) tall. It grows from short rhizomes and has dense, often purpled tinted flower heads that are 4 to 13 cm (1.6 to 5.1 in.) long. It has one flowered spikelets, two subequal glumes, and lemma with a dorsal awn. The awn is longer than the glum and sharply bent, and longer than the tip of the spiklet. Flowering stems have typically one or two leaves.

Distribution

''Calamagrostis purpurascens'' is native from arctic

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, to much of

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(

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, and

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) and the western and northern

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(

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

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New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

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, and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

). It is rare and scattered in the southern U.S. states, such as

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, where it is a post-glacial

relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

. Further south, ''C. purpurascens'' is also known in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, where it was recorded by

Rodolfo Amando Philippi Rodolfo Amando (or Rudolph Amandus) Philippi (14 September 1808 – 23 July 1904) was a German–Chilean paleontologist and zoologist. Philippi contributed primarily to malacology and paleontology. His grandson, Rodulfo Amando Philippi Bañados ...

in 1860. Philippi gave it the name ''Deyeuxia robusta'', now relegated to

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

. It is also found in

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(in eastern

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

Habitat

''Calamagrostis purpurascens'' grows in dry mountainous zones, from high up on the

foothill Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

s to close to the snow-line, often taking root in gaps in the talus, where few other plants can grow. It is an arctic-alpine species with disjunct boreal populations in eastern North America. In Minnesota it is an endangered species found growing in the north eastern part of the state in the coniferous region in

Cook county Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

where it is found on tall north facing cliffs composed of

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

and

diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-graine ...

; these locations are cool, moist, and lack heavy competition from other plant species.

Ecology

Carterocephalus palaemon ''Carterocephalus palaemon'', the chequered skipper or arctic skipper, not to be confused with the large chequered skipper, is a small woodland butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. This butterfly can live in grasslands. The upperside of the butte ...

'' (arctic skipper)

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

eat the

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

from ''C. purpurascens'' flowers, and their

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s feed on the shoots. ''

Ovis canadensis The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of Ovis, sheep native to North America. It is named for its large Horn (anatomy), horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates ...

'' (bighorn sheep) are known to graze this grass.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5018380 purpurascens Plants described in 1823 Bunchgrasses of North America Flora of Siberia Butterfly food plants Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)