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 Herbarium specimen Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium, Usage Rights: Non-Commercial (CC BY-NC) |  Spikelets Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | | | |
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Origin: Native Season: Warm
Habitat Description: Dry rocky slopes and rolling desert grasslands.
Plant Communities:Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland
Elevation: 2500 - 6000 feet
Similar Species: Bouteloua eludens
Desc:
Tufted grass with unique purplish tinged seedheads along opposite sides of stem.
Identification Notes: Perennial, 1 to 2 feet tall; stems firm, hard at the base; leaf sheaths rounded, not conspicuously flattened; 3 to 10 one-sided hairy spikes per plant; densely hairy seedhead stem; spikelets set closely like the teeth of a comb; 2nd glume is hairy.
Grass Type: Perennial bunchgrass Rhizomes: N Stolons: N
Large Dense Clump (> 2 feet): N Bushy (highly branched): N
Height with Seedheads: 12 to 24 inches
Seedhead Structure: Branched - comblike branches Seedhead Droops: N
Flowering Period: Aug - Oct
Number of Flowers per Spikelet: Multi-flowered Spikelets One-sided: N
Awns: 1/4 inch to 1 inch Three Awns: Y Awns Bent: N
Flower and Seedhead Notes: Panicle of spike-like branches. Panicle is 3/4 to 2-1/2 inches long, spike-like branches are < 3/4 inch long, 3 to 8 in number, 8 to 12 spikelets per branch. Glumes unequal and 1 nerved, lemmas 3 nerved. Spikelets are hairy.
Blade Hairy:
Y
Blade with White Margins:
N
Blade Cross section:
Flat
Blade Notes:
Blades to 4 inches long, 1/16 inch (or less) wide, flat, covered with a powdery or waxy bloom, bases with nipple-like based hairs on the
margins, similar hairs sometimes present on either or both surfaces.
Sheath Hairy:
N
Tuft of Hairs at top of Sheath or Collar:
N
Ligules:
Hairy
Auricles (Ear-like lobes at collar area:
N
Forage Value:
Good, highly palatable to all classes of livestock.
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