Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Stipa pringlei
Other common names
Pringle needlegrass
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Warm
Open to wooded rocky slopes, ponderosa pine forests, mountain meadows, occasionally in oak or juniper woodlands.
Plant Community
Grasslands
Interior Chaparral
Montane Conifer Forest
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Low elevation
5000
High elevation
9000
Similar species
Piptochaetium fimbriatum
General Description
Tall, slender, erect, somewhat zigzagged stems growing in dense tufts.
Florets 1/4 to 1 inch long; culms 16 to 51 inches tall; lemmas hairy; awns 3/4 to 2-1/2 inches long. Differs from P. fimbriatum, in having longer florets and sharper calluses.
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 - open and spreading
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
June
Last bloom month
October
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
One-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
1/4 inch to 1 inch
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
Yes
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Spikelets are arranged in open panicles at the top half of the stem. The glumes (bracts at the base of the floret) totally enclose the floret. There is separation at maturity at the joint above the glumes.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
No
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Blades are flat to rolled, 4 to 12 inches long, 1/8 inch or less wide, with 5 distinct veins running the length of the blade.
Sheath is hairy
No
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
No
Ligule
Membranous
Auricles
No
Information not available.