Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Chaetochloa leucopila
Other common names
plains bristlegrass
bristlegrass
yellow bristlegrass
yellow foxtail
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Warm
Found in grasslands and open ground, dry plains and rocky slopes.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Low elevation
2000
High elevation
7000
Similar species
Setaria macrostachya
General Description
Perennial bunchgrass with hard knotty crowns, erect and variable in height from 12 to 36 inches. Seedhead is pale green, spikelike and has bristles below the spikelets.
Tufted perennial to 3 feet tall, hard knotty crowns. Stem nodes often hairy; leaf blades flat or folded. Seedhead dense, spikelike; spikelets 2-flowered, awnless, first floret sterile, second floret fertile, one pale green bristle beneath each spikelet.
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 - contracted
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
July
Last bloom month
September
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
Multi-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
Absent
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Spike like seedhead with bristles below the spikelets. Spikelets borne on very short branches with 1 or 2 basal sterile florets and 1 fertile floret. Spikelets are awnless. Bristles subtend spikelets and remain on seedhead after spikelets fall.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
Yes
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Folded
Blades are 3 to 10 inches long, thin, and flat or folded. Leaf-blade surface is roughly hairy; blades have a pointed tip.
Sheath is hairy
Yes
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
Yes
Ligule
Hairy
Auricles
No
Provides moderate to high quality forage for all types of grazing livestock and wildlife. The abundant, tender, basal leaves are highly palatable.