Puccinellia macra
{{Short description|Species of grass}}
{{Speciesbox
|image =
|genus = Puccinellia
|species = macra
|authority = Fern. & Weath.
}}
Puccinellia macra is a perennial grass which grows on the coasts of south-eastern Canada. Its specific epithet "macra" means large, referring to its tall stature.
Description
Puccinellia macra is cespitose and grows {{convert|45-60|cm|abbr=on}} tall. It has cauline leaves with thin, flat blades {{convert|3-6.3|mm|abbr=on}} wide and {{convert|4-14|cm|abbr=on}} long, with upper leaves typically longer than lower leaves. Its basal sheaths are somewhat purple. Its linear to cylindrical panicle is {{convert|20-30|cm|abbr=on}} long, with appressed and very scabrous floral branches. Its purplish spikelets are {{convert|4-7|mm|abbr=on}} long and bear four to six flowers. The first glume is {{convert|1.5-2|mm|abbr=on}} long, hyaline, acute, and has one nerve,
and its second glume is {{convert|2-2.5|mm|abbr=on}} long, narrowly ovate, obtuse, and has three nerves. The oblanceolate palea is {{convert|2.5-3|mm|abbr=on}} long and ciliate on its nerves, with lower cilia longer. The grass flowers in August.{{cite book |title=Gray's Manual of Botany |author= Merrit Lyndon Fernald |year= 1970 |editor= R. C. Rollins |publisher= D. Van Nostrand Company |edition= Eighth (Centennial) - Illustrated|isbn= 0-442-22250-5 |page= 109}}
P. macra is somewhat unique morphologically in its genus, resembling Puccinellia nutkaensis but differing in its softer and more pubescent lemmas.{{cite journal |page= 15 |author= M. L. Fernald and C. A. Weatherby |title= Contributions from the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University.— New Series, No. Xlvi. The Genus Puccinellia in Eastern North America |journal= Rhodora |volume= 18 |number= 205 |year= 1916|jstor= 23298432 }}
Habitat and distribution
Puccinellia macra grows on sea cliffs and in coastal sands in eastern Gaspé County in Quebec.