ELEMENT STEWARDSHIP ABSTRACT FOR POA LANGUIDA November 29, 1990 Stewardship Abstract No.: 013 By Alfred E. Schuyler For: State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy Division of Parks and Forestry Office of Natural Lands Management CN 404 Trenton, New Jersey 08625 Element Stewardship Abstract Element Stewardship Abstracts (ESA's) are prepared to provide land managers and other conservation workers with current biological and management related information on those species and natural ecosystems that are most important to protect or for which control is most needed. The abstracts organize and summarize data from numerous sources, including the literature and from researchers and managers actively working with the species or ecosystem. The ESA format was originally developed by The Nature Conservancy as a starting point for the stewardship of the many species and ecosystems, or elements, protected by the Conservancy. The New Jersey Office of Natural Lands Management is developing ESA's for those elements that are of particular importance as components of the biota of the state. This includes globally rare plant species that are also listed on New Jersey's official Endangered Plant Species List. The ESA serves several important functions. It helps to identify information gaps and target future research efforts. It provides a standard format for highlighting specific information about a species or community including its management needs. It also allows information to be readily communicated among various preserves, state offices, regional centers, natural heritage programs and private organizations. The ESA is a dynamic document that is continuously updated as new information becomes available. Users are encouraged to contribute their information to the abstract. This sharing of information will benefit all land managers by ensuring the availability of up-to-date information on management techniques and knowledgeable contacts. Please contact the Office of Natural Lands Management for an ESA publication list. It will contain the date of the latest revision to each ESA. Please refer to the abstract number when ordering ESA's. The abstract is a compilation of available information and is not an endorsement of particular practices or products. Element Name: POA LANGUIDA Hitch. (Poaceae) Element Code: PMPOA4Z1C0 Preparer: Alfred E. Schuyler Common Name: Drooping Bluegrass Description: Habit: perennial tufted herb with weak ascending stems having narrow sheathing leaves and nodding terminal inflorescences with minute flowers. Stem: culms in small tufts, slender and weak, up to 1 m tall. Leaves: mostly basal and on lower portions of culms, blades up to 10 cm long and 5 mm wide. Sheaths compressed, much shorter than the internodes. Ligules lacerate, upper ones 2-3 mm long. Inflorescence: nodding panicle up to 20 cm long, with branches usually in 2's or 3's, with a few spikelets near the tips of the branches. Spikelets: ovate, up to 4 mm long, with 2-4 flowers. First glume 1-nerved, up to 2.6 mm long. Second glume usually 3- nerved, up to 2.9 mm long. Lemmas firm, obtuse, 5-nerved, glabrous except for webbed base, up to 3.2 mm long. Flowers: anthers 0.6-0.8 mm long. Fruits: grains yellowish, narrowly ovate to narrowly elliptic, up to 2 mm long. Distinctions from Related Species: closely resembles P. saltuensis which has shorter upper ligules (up to 1.5 mm long), thinner, more acute, and longer lemmas (up to 4 mm long), and longer anthers (up to 1.2 mm long). Habitat: The range of P. languida extends from Vermont and southern Quebec to Minnesota, and south to North Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois, and Iowa (Fernald, 1950; Radford et al., 1968). Fernald (1950) gives the habitat as "Sandy or rocky woods and ridges." Other habitat descriptions are similar (e.g., Gleason, 1952; Pohl, 1947) although in North Carolina, Radford et al. give the habitat as "Pine barrens over olivine." In Indiana, Homoya (pers. comm., 1990) reports finding P. languida on the edges of wetlands on gravelly well drained calcareous substrates. In New Jersey, P. languida is known from about 11 sites in Sussex and Warren counties (NJNHP, 1989b). Most of the sites are in woods and two of them are associated with limestone substrates (NJNHP, 1989a). Moisture conditions range from damp to dry. Biology/Ecology: Flowering and fruiting occur from late May to early July (Fernald, 1950). Many species of Poa form seeds asexually by agamospermy (Stebbins, 1950). However, this condition has not been reported for P. languida. Gassner (1930) reported that seed germination for three species of Poa is not dependent on light, but on intermittent low and high temperatures. Constant temperatures inhibit germination. In general, P. languida is a plant of forested late successional habitats although the woods may be open to some extent (Pohl, 1947). The plants apparently occur in small numbers and in low density at most sites (NJNHP, 1989a). Determination of Element Occurrence (EO) Quality: There are six extant occurrences and five additional historical ones of P. languida in New Jersey (NJNHP, 1989b). The historical occurrences probably are still extant and at least three occurrences are protected (NJNHP, 1989b). Generally the species occurs in small populations and many of them probably have been overlooked by botanists. Threats: The major threat is elimination of the habitat for development. Fortunately most of the sites are in comparatively rural areas of Sussex and Warren counties. Disturbances that would enhance the growth of competing species also are a threat. Land Protection Specifications: Forest tracts with few introduced weedy species should be protected. Sites that are comparatively open with few or scattered herbaceous plants may be essential for species survival. Recovery Potential: This species probably would be slow in recolonizing a habitat. Its tufted growth form, small population size, and occurrence in late successional habitats are factors that would make recovery potential low. Biological Monitoring Needs: We need to know how well plants are persisting at the known extant sites, whether or not they still occur at historic sites, and if they can be found at new sites. Biological Monitoring Procedures: Population sizes should be recorded periodically at known sites. Historic sites and new sites, with habitat characteristics similar to known sites, should be searched. Biological Monitoring Programs: David Snyder is the most knowledgeable botanist concerning the status of P. languida in New Jersey. Summary of Stewardship Needs: Poa languida is a widespread eastern North American grass that usually grows in sandy or rocky woods and often occurs on limestone. Moisture conditions range from damp to dry. At most sites the plants occur in small numbers and low density. In New Jersey, P. languida is known from six sites in Sussex or Warren counties although the plants are relatively inconspicuous and probably have been overlooked to some extent. Habitat destruction for development is a major threat and competition from other species may be a threat where the plants occur in comparatively open habitats. Forest tracts with few weedy species in the herbaceeous layer should be protected for it to survive. Recovery potential is low because of its tufted growth form, small population size, and occurrence in late successional habitats. Population sizes should be periodically monitored and searches should be conducted at historic and new sites. Bibliography for Poa languida hitch.: Fernald, M.L. 1950. Gray's Manual of Botany. 8th ed. American Book Co., New York. lxiv + 1632 pp. Gassner, G. 1930. Untersuchungen u"ber die Wirkung von Temperatur und Temperaturkombinationen auf die Keimung von Poa pratensis und anderen Poa-Arten. Z. Bot. 23: 767-838. Gleason, H.A. 1952. The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora of the Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. The New York Botanical Garden, New York. 3 v. Glassman, S.F. 1957. Notes on the Flora of the Chicago Region. Rhodora 59: 230-235. Homoya, M. 1990. Indiana Heritage Program, Indianapolis, personal communication. Marie-Victorin, F. 1964. Flore Laurentide. 2nd ed., entierement revue et mise a jor par Ernest Rouleau. Les Presses de l'Universite de Montreal, Montreal. 925 pp. NJNHP. 1989a. Element Occurrence Summaries. New Jersey Natural Heritage Program, Trenton. NJNHP. 1989b. State Ranking Forms. New Jersey Natural Heritage Program, Trenton. Pohl, R.W. 1947. A Taxonomic Study on the Grasses of Pennsylvania. Amer. Midl. Nat. 38(3): 513-604. Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, & C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill. lxi + 1833 pp. Seymour, F.C. 1969. The Flora of New England. The Charles E. Tuttle Co., Publishers, Rutland. xvi + 596 pp. Stebbins, G.L., Jr. 1950. Variation and Evolution in Plants. Columbia University Press, New York. xx + 643 pp.