Origin: Introduced   Season: Warm Habitat Description: Grows on rocky slopes, at the margins of woods, along roadsides, and in waste ground. Plant Communities:Montane Conifer Forest, Disturbed Areas Elevation: 6000 - 8000 feet
General Description
Desc:
A vigorous-growing bunchgrass with abundant leaves coming from a coarse, dense, basal crown, 2 to 5 feet tall with droopy seedheads. This grass can outcompete natives and become a monoculture. Identification Notes: Perennial; seedhead is lead-colored, branches slender, drooping; lemmas less than 1/16 inch, lateral nerves prominent. Blades taper to fine hair-like brownish threads. Collar hairy. Grass Type: Perennial bunchgrass Rhizomes: N Stolons: N Large Dense Clump (> 2 feet): Y Bushy (highly branched): N Height with Seedheads: Greater than 36 inches Seedhead Structure: Branched - open and spreading Seedhead Droops: Y Flowering Period: Jun - Aug Flower Characteristics
Number of Flowers per Spikelet: Multi-flowered Spikelets One-sided: N Awns: Absent Three Awns: N Awns Bent: N Flower and Seedhead Notes: Seedhead is 10 to 16 inches long, branches 3 to 6 inches long. Branches not bearing spikelets near the bases. Lower axils of the seedhead stem are hairy. Stems of spikelets much shorter than spikelets. Lemma 3-nerved, lateral nerve may be inconspicuous.
Vegetative Charcteristics
Blade Hairy:
Y
Blade with White Margins:
N
Blade Cross section:
Involute
Blade Notes:
Blades 24 to 48 inches long, drooping, slender, tapering to fine hair-like brownish threads. Bases of the densely clustered young leaves are purplish.
Sheath Hairy:
Y
Tuft of Hairs at top of Sheath or Collar:
Y
Ligules:
Hairy Auricles (Ear-like lobes at collar area:
N
Forage Value:
Fair.
Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590