Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Hilaria mutica
Other common names
tobosa
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Cool
Warm
Dry, exposed, sandy or rocky slopes and plains, alluvial flats and swales, most abundant on heavy clay soils in swales that receive runoff water.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
2000
High elevation
6000
Similar species
Pleuraphis jamesii
General Description
Coarse perennial bunchgrass to 2 feet tall. Grows from a coarse scaly rootstock. Stems spread out at the base and then curve upward. Seedhead is a spike of 3 clustered spikelets at each node. Grayish when mature.
Perennial, rhizomatous, slender wiry stems to 30 inches tall. Leaves mostly basal. Seedhead short spikes of 8 to 25 clusters of 3 spikelets that drop as a unit, leaving zig-zag seedhead stems. Hilaria jamesii has glumes that narrow toward the top.
Grass type
Perennial mat or sod-forming
Rhizomes
Yes
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
Yes
Bushy - highly branched
Yes
Height with Seedheads
12 inches or more
Seedhead Structure
Unbranched
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
October
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
Multi-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
Less than 1/4 inch
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Spikelets sessile (stalkless) in groups of 3 attached to the central axis, groups fall off the axis as one. First glume on each lateral spikelet is fan-shaped.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
Yes
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Involute – rolled inward on upper surface
Blades to 6 inches long , stiff and hairless (occasionally with a few long hairs); mostly roughened with stout projections on both surfaces.
Sheath is hairy
No
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
Yes
Ligule
Membranous and hairy
Auricles
No
Good to fair for cattle and horses, fair for sheep, poor for wildlife, becomes relatively unpalatable when mature. Due to its coarseness it is lightly utilized.