Polypogon magellanicus
| Polypogon magellanicus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Pooideae |
| Genus: | Polypogon |
| Species: | P. magellanicus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Polypogon magellanicus (Lam.) Finot
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
List
| |
Polypogon magellanicus is a species of grass. It has a circumpolar distribution and is native to many subantarctic islands in, and the coasts bordering, the Southern Ocean.[2]
Description
Polypogon magellanicus is a tufted perennial grass, varying in height from 50 to 450 mm and forming short grassland communities. The culms have purple nodes. The leaves are wiry. The panicles are 20–120 mm long, with many shiny, greenish-purple, distinctly awned spikelets.[3]
Taxonomy
Polypogon magellanicus was scientifically described by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1791 and named Agrostis magellanica. The botanist Victor Lionel Finot reclassified it to the genus Polypogon with the name Polypogon magellanicus. It has no accepted subspecies or varieties, but has 12 synonyms.[1]
| Name | Year | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agrostis magellanica Lam. | 1791 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Agrostis antarctica Hook.f. | 1847 | species | = het. |
| Agrostis araucana Phil. | 1896 | species | = het. |
| Agrostis chonotica Phil. | 1858 | species | = het. |
| Agrostis cognata Steud. | 1854 | species | = het. |
| Agrostis macrathera Phil. | 1896 | species | = het. |
| Agrostis magellanica subsp. laeviuscula C.E.Hubb. | 1981 | subspecies | = het. |
| Agrostis magellanica var. antarctica (Hook.f.) Franch. | 1889 | variety | = het. |
| Agrostis magellanica var. cognata (Steud.) Macloskie | 1915 | variety | = het. |
| Agrostis multiculmis Hook.f. | 1845 | species | = het. |
| Agrostis rinihuensis Phil. | 1896 | species | = het. |
| Vilfa magellanica (Lam.) P.Beauv. | 1812 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym ; = heterotypic synonym | |||
Distribution and habitat
The grass is found in the south-west of New Zealand’s South Island and on the Antipodes, Auckland, and Campbell Islands. It is also native to Macquarie Island and the Falkland, Kerguelen, Crozet and Prince Edward Islands, as well as southern South America in Tierra del Fuego. In New Zealand it occupies subalpine and alpine habitats on stony or rocky ground. In the subantarctic islands it grows at lower altitudes in peat and among mosses and cushion plants, or as scattered small plants in fellfield.[2][3]
References
Notes
- ^ a b "Polypogon magellanicus (Lam.) Finot". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ^ a b New Zealand Plant Conservation Network.
- ^ a b Flora of Australia Online.
Sources
- "Agrostis magellanica ". line. New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. 2010-01-18. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
- "Agrostis magellanica Lam". Flora of Australia Online. Australian Biological Resources Study. 1993. Retrieved 2011-01-23.