Publication: Syst. Bot. 16(3): 518. 1991.

Origin: Native

Herbarium search: CPNWH

Notes: FNA24: "Poa cusickii grows in rich meadows in sagebrush scrub to rocky alpine slopes, from the southwestern Yukon Territory to Manitoba and North Dakota, south to central California and eastern Colorado. It is gynodioecious or dioecious.

Poa cusickii subsp. pallida grows in forb-rich mountain grasslands to alpine habitats, from the southern Yukon Territory to California, across the Great Basin and through the Rocky Mountains to central Colorado. It is found mainly east and north of subsp. cusickii, but pistillate plants extend into the range of that subspecies in the eastern alpine peaks of California, Nevada, and Oregon. The shorter branch length serves to distinguish it from the narrow-panicled subsp. cusickii forms in most cases. It hybridizes with P. fendleriana, forming P. ×nematophylla. The hybrids may have hairy lemmas or, less often, broader leaf blades and glabrous lemmas. Poa cusickii subsp. pallida was included in Hitchock\'s (1951) circumscription of Poa pringlei, along with P. keckii and P. suksdorfii."

Last updated 12/16/2023 by David Giblin.