Publication: Amer. J. Bot. 21(3): 129. 1934.

Origin: Native

Herbarium search: CPNWH

Notes: FNA24: "Puccinellia pumila is primarily North American, growing on the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic coasts. It also grows in Kamchatka, Russia (Tsvelev 1995). It generally grows in sand and among stones in protected intertidal environments. A few specimens with exceptionally long glumes and lemmas were treated by Fernald and Weatherby (1916) as P. paupercula var. longiglumis Fernald & Weath.; they are regarded here as representing extremes of P. pumila.

Puccinellia alaskana Scribn. & Merr., here included in P. pumila, was considered a subspecies of P. langeana (Berlin) T.J. Sørensen ex Hultén [= P. tenella] by Sørensen (1953), but more closely resembles P. pumila. It differs morphologically from P. pumila mainly in its relatively distinct lemma veins. It also differs from most specimens of P. pumila in having smaller lemmas (2.5–3 mm) and anthers (0.5–0.9 mm), and in being diploid. It represents the Aleutian Islands component of the geographic distribution given for P. pumila. Its status is currently under investigation. Molecular data obtained as this volume went to press (Consaul et al. [in prep.]) tend to support recognition of P. alaskana as a distinct species."

Last updated 1/1/2024 by David Giblin.