Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Pappophorum wrightii
Other common names
spike pappus grass
feather pappusgrass
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Warm
Found in desert scrub or grasslands in open areas, on dry rocky slopes, mesas, rock outcrops and cliffs.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
3000
High elevation
6000
General Description
Low tufted perennial. Distinguishing feature is 9 awns on each lemma. A very hairy densely packed seedhead.
Small thin stemmed perennial 8 to 18 inches tall, knotty based; spikelike seedhead has hairy spikelets; spikelets have one plump rounded floret; lemmas have 9 feathery awns; the hairy spikelets can give a silvery appearance to the seedhead.
Grass type
Perennial bunchgrass
Rhizomes
No
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
No
Height with Seedheads
12 inches or more
Seedhead Structure
Branched - contracted
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
July
Last bloom month
October
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
Multi-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
1/4 inch to 1 inch
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Lemma many-nerved with 9 awns. Densely flowered, grayish-green. Main axis hairy. Often silvery in appearance.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
Yes
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Involute – rolled inward on upper surface
Blades mostly 3/4 to 4-3/4 inches long, <1/6 inch wide, more or less hairy, inrolled when dry.
Sheath is hairy
Yes
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
Yes
Ligule
Hairy
Auricles
No
None.