Scientific Name

Phleum alpinum L.

Common Name(s)

Alpine timothy, mountian timothy

Tribe / Family Name

Poeae

Flowering Period

June to August

Symbol

PHAL2

Description

Alpine timothy is a native cool-season perennial bunchgrass that is sometimes creeping and sod-forming; reproduction occurs from seeds and tillers. Culms range from 15–50 cm in height and occasionally decumbent at the base. Its inflorescence is a dense, spike-like panicle that is 1–6 cm long, egg-shaped, cylindrical, and purplish in color. Spikelets are elliptic, flattened, and 1-flowered; disarticulation above the glumes (occasionally below the glumes later in the season). Glumes are equal to subequal, 2.5–4.5 mm long, hispid along the keels, membranous, and awned (awns sometimes up to 3.2 mm long). Lemmas are up to 2.5 mm long, lance-ovate, glabrous to puberulent, truncate, minutely erose at the tips, membranous, and 5-nerved. Sheaths are open, glabrous, and inflated near the upper portion of the plant. Auricles are rare, but when present are small and blunt to round. Ligules are up to 4 mm long, membranous, obtuse or truncate, erose, and glabrous. Blades are up to 17 cm long, up to 7 mm wide, flat or loosely rolled, tapering to the tip, scabrous along the margins, smooth to hairy above, and scabrous below.

General Info

Alpine timothy can be found along streambanks, in wet mountain meadows, riparian sites, and montane and alpine sites.

Similar Species

Alpine timothy can look similar to timothy (Phleum pratense). However, the seed heads of timothy are 3–20 cm long, and the seed heads of alpine timothy are 1–6 cm long. Also, the decumbent base of alpine timothy can be differentiated from the swollen or bulb-like base of timothy.

Similar Species Links