Grass Description
Dry mesas, washes and waste places.
General Description
Small wiry weak-stemmed annual grass with one-sided and few-flowered seedheads, superficially resembling a three-awn grass, extremely variable in size.
Annual; blades few up to 6 inches; seedheads narrow, fall intact at maturity, stems bearded, sharp pointed at the base; spikelets irregularly spaced; glumes narrow, taper to a sharp point; lemmas have hairy nerves and are toothed.
Flower Characteristics
Slender axis with 8 to 14 branches of 2 to 4 spikelets, one fertile. Rudimentary florets are 3 awned, resembling Aristida species. Central stem where spikelets attach is densely hairy and extends beyond the terminal spikelet.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blades few and thin, 5-1/2 inches long and less than 1/8 inch wide, flat or folded, top surfaces and margins near the ligules have hairs with nipple-like bases.
Not significant as forage.