Plant Image
Plant - summer
Willow Lake Road


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Chloris virgata - feather fingergrass

Synonyms: Chloris alba, C. alba var. aristulata, C. albertii, C. barbata var. décor, C. brachystachys, C. caudate and more. See SEINET.
Plant Form: Grass

Family: Poaceae


   
 
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Plant - summer
Willow Lake Road
Sue Smith
Basal leaves
Willow Lake Road
Sue Smith
Seedhead
Willow Lake Road
Sue Smith
Sheath and blade
Willow Lake Road
Sue Smith
  Grass Description -   Glossary of Grass Terminology

Origin: Introduced    Season: Warm
Habitat Description: Disturbed areas, roadsides and wastelands, swales and desert washes. Prolific on disturbed soils after summer rains, this species can form dense stands in many areas.
Plant Communities:Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 1000 - 5500 feet

General Description

Desc: A weedy, annual bunchgrass with weak, spreading stems and a shallow root system, usually decumbent (growing along the ground and then upward). Grows 24 to 48 inches in height. Distinct digitate (finger-like) branched seedhead.
Identification Notes: Tufted annual, 4 to 30 inches tall; occasionally with stolons; sheaths smooth; stems trail and then bend upwards; ligules to 1/4 inch, irregularly dissected or fringed with hairs; blades flat or folded, 1/16 to 1/4 inch wide, smooth; digitate seedhead.
Grass Type: Annual  Rhizomes: N  Stolons: N
Large Dense Clump (> 2 feet): N  Bushy (highly branched): N
Height with Seedheads: 24 to 36 inches
Seedhead Structure: Branched - fingerlike  Seedhead Droops: N
Flowering Period: Jul - Sep
Flower Characteristics

Number of Flowers per Spikelet: Multi-flowered  Spikelets One-sided: Y
Awns: 1/4 inch to 1 inch   Three Awns: N  Awns Bent: N
Flower and Seedhead Notes: Several slender feathery branches 1 to 3 inches long, radiating finger-like from the end of a slender, erect stem. Silky, white or pinkish cast due to numerous long awns and hairy lemmas. Spikelets in two rows along one side of the finger-like branches.
Vegetative Charcteristics

Blade Hairy: Y    Blade with White Margins: N    Blade Cross section: Flat or folded
Blade Notes: Blades 2-1/2 to 10 inches long, 1/16 to 1/3 inch wide, densely covered with short hairs or with a few long hairs.
Sheath Hairy: N    Tuft of Hairs at top of Sheath or Collar: N    Ligules: Membranous and hairy
Auricles (Ear-like lobes at collar area: N

Forage Value: Poor.

  Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590
Version 8.0  
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Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022
Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson  
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