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Hesperostipa neomexicana - New Mexico feathergrass

Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Stipa neomexicana
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No

Grass Description

Origin
Native
Season
Cool

Dry, sandy or rocky slopes, grassland and pinyon pine associations.

Plant Community
Grasslands
Interior Chaparral
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Low elevation
3500
High elevation
7000
Similar species
Hesperostipa comata

General Description

Tufted bunchgrass; blades tightly inrolled, very narrow, old leaves often intertwined with new growth; seedheads very erect.

Tufted perennial, narrow involute blades. Sheaths smooth or slightly hairy. Seeedhead contracted; spikelets 1-flowered, disarticulate above the glumes; awns 2 to 3 inches long, twist at maturity, terminal segment with feathery hairs.

Grass type
Perennial bunchgrass
Rhizomes
No
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
No
Height with Seedheads
24 inches or more
Seedhead Structure
Branched - contracted
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
June

Flower Characteristics

Flowers per Spikelet
One-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
Greater than 1 inch
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes

Seedhead 1 to 4 inches long, often partly included in the sheath. Glumes about equal, remain on seedhead stem. Lower end of floret hardened (callused), hairy and pointed. Lemma hairy and awned from their tips, terminal segment of awns with feathery hairs.

Vegetative Characteristics

Blade is hairy
No
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Involute – rolled inward on upper surface

Blades 4 to 12 inches long, 1/16 to 1/8 inch wide, usually tightly inrolled.

Sheath is hairy
Yes
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
No
Ligule
Membranous
Auricles
No

Fair to good when seedheads are absent. Extensively utilized by wildlife in spring. Cures well to provide fall and winter forage for livestock.