Origin: Native   Season: Cool and Warm Habitat Description: Dry rocky slopes and desert flats, can be dominant in southwest deserts. Plant Communities:Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland Elevation: 2000 - 5500 feet
General Description
Desc:
Low growing grass, dry most of the year. Forms half a sphere in its shape. Stems arching outward and may root some distance away. Identification Notes: Dwarf, tufted perennial; numerous wiry stems, 2 to 5-1/2 inches tall; seedhead head-like, exceeded by blades; ligule fringed, <1/16 inch long; sheath open; collar smooth except for long marginal hairs. Early season leaves covered by white cobwebby fluff. Grass Type: Perennial bunchgrass Rhizomes: N Stolons: Y Large Dense Clump (> 2 feet): N Bushy (highly branched): N Height with Seedheads: Less than 12 inches Seedhead Structure: Branched - contracted Seedhead Droops: N Flowering Period: Mar - Oct Flower Characteristics
Number of Flowers per Spikelet: Multi-flowered Spikelets One-sided: N Awns: Less than 1/4 inch Three Awns: N Awns Bent: N Flower and Seedhead Notes: Dense, head-like cluster of white woolly spikelets, light green or purple-tinged when new, surrounded by a tuft of leaf blades.
Vegetative Charcteristics
Blade Hairy:
N
Blade with White Margins:
N
Blade Cross section:
Involute
Blade Notes:
Blades 3/8 to 2 inches long, 1/32 inch wide, sharp pointed.
Sheath Hairy:
N
Tuft of Hairs at top of Sheath or Collar:
Y
Ligules:
Hairy Auricles (Ear-like lobes at collar area:
N
Forage Value:
Little to none, avoided by most livestock.
Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590