Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Crypsis squarrosa, Monroa squarrosa, Monroa squarrosa var. floccuosa, Munroa squarrosa var. floccuosa
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Warm
Grows in dry, open areas, usually in sandy soil or disturbed sites.
Plant Community
Desert Scrub
Disturbed Areas
Grasslands
Interior Chaparral
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Low elevation
3400
High elevation
7000
Similar species
Dasyochloa pulchella
General Description
Plants annual; stoloniferous, mat-forming.
Low spreading and much branched annual that forms mats. Leaves are short, flat, pungent and arranged in tight bundles. Distinguished from Dasyochloa pulchella which is a perennial.
Grass type
Annual
Rhizomes
No
Stolons
Yes
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
No
Height with Seedheads
Less than 12 inches
Seedhead Structure
Branched - fingerlike
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
June
Last bloom month
October
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
Multi-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
Absent
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Seedhead terminal with spikelike branches. Flower cluster is laterally compressed with 3 to 5 florets; lower florets bisexual or pistels without stamens; terminal florets sterile. Glumes, shorter than the flower, are clustered, keeled, 1-veined, unawned.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
No
Blade margins white
Yes
Blade cross-section
Flat
Involute – rolled inward on upper surface
Blades linear, usually involute, sometimes flat or folded, with white, thickened margins; apex sharply pointed.
Sheath is hairy
Yes
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
Yes
Ligule
Hairy
Auricles
No
No forage value.