Scientific Family
Poaceae
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Warm
Found on sandy plains and rocky slopes in open woodlands and ponderosa pine forests.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Grasslands
Low elevation
4500
High elevation
7500
General Description
A rather small, tufted perennial bunchgrass, often acts like an annual. Stems solitary or sparingly branched at the base with numerous leaves, mostly in small dense clumps.
Tufted perennial, blades flat mostly basal, curled when dry. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Seedhead erect with appressed branches. Spikelets two-flowered, appressed, clustered and overlapping. First glume much shorter than second glume. Mature lemma shiny.
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
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 is up to 8 inches long with few, stiff, erect-spreading branches and mostly appressed branchlets and spikelet stalks. Spikelets 2-flowered, appressed and closely placed in small, often overlapping clusters.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
Yes
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Blades are often clustered at the base of the plant, 1-1/2 to 6 inches long and 1/4 inch wide and may be sparsely hairy on top. Blades often curl with age, resembling wood shavings.
Sheath is hairy
Yes
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
No
Ligule
Membranous and hairy
Auricles
No
Fair for livestock and wildlife, palatability rapidly declines with maturity.