Scientific Family
Poaceae
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Cool
Warm
Grows in open, sandy meadows, canyon bottoms, limestone rocky flats, gypsum flats, and on rolling slopes and roadsides.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Low elevation
3500
High elevation
7000
General Description
Loose sod or mat forming plant, branched from one root. Stems rarely more than 20 inches long. Low plant with widely slender, creeping, scaly rhizomes, main seedhead stems creeping, smooth and shiny, branching and spreading, flowering branches are erect.
Perennial grass with prominent scaly creeping rhizomes; wide creeping stems and blades conspicuously bent backwards; blades to 1/16 inch wide, short and rolled inward; seedheads narrow, condensed; spikelets on short stems; glumes without hairs.
Grass type
Perennial mat or sod-forming
Rhizomes
Yes
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
No
Height with Seedheads
Less than 12 inches
Seedhead Structure
Branched - contracted
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
September
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
One-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
Less than 1/4 inch
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Seedhead usually partially covered by the sheath, erect, seldom over 6 to 10 inches long. Spikelets 1/8 inch long on short appressed stems.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
Yes
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Involute – rolled inward on upper surface
Blades short, curved like a bow, may be hairy on upper surface. 1/4 to 2-1/4 inches long, narrow rolled inward, smooth or rough on top.
Sheath is hairy
No
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
No
Ligule
Membranous
Auricles
No
Poor.