Species Detail Grasses

Herbarium specimen - Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium, Usage Rights: Non-Commercial (CC BY-NC)		Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants Vulpia microstachys - small fescue Synonyms: Festuca microstachys Other Common Names: little fescue, twoflower fescue, sixweeks grass Plant Form: Grass Family: Poaceae


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Seedheads Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)


	Grass Description - Glossary of Grass Terminology Origin: Native Season: Cool and Warm Habitat Description: Found on dry slopes, rocky hillsides and often in disturbed areas. Plant Communities:Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Disturbed Areas Elevation: Below 5000 feet Similar Species: Festuca ciliata, Festuca pauciflora General Description Desc: Annual grass with solitary or loosely tufted stems 6 to 30 inches long. Stems may be erect or trailing, sometimes rooting at the nodes. Stems are usually smooth but may be slightly hairy. Identification Notes: Annual; slender, weak, often abruptly bent stems; seedhead branches appressed to erect; spikelets solitary, 1 to 8 flowered, all flowers fertile; lower glumes 1/2 to 3/4 length of upper glume; lemma awns up to 1/2 inch long; paleas usually exceed lemmas. Grass Type: Annual Rhizomes: N Stolons: Y Large Dense Clump (> 2 feet): N Bushy (highly branched): N Height with Seedheads: 24 to 36 inches Seedhead Structure: Branched - open and spreading Seedhead Droops: Y Flowering Period: Apr - Jun Flower Characteristics Number of Flowers per Spikelet: Multi-flowered Spikelets One-sided: Y Awns: Less than 1/4 inch Three Awns: N Awns Bent: N Flower and Seedhead Notes: Seedhead is up to 9 inches long and has 2 to 10 drooping, pendulous, widely spreading branches. Spikelets have 3 to 7 bisexual florets that are laterally compressed and often purplish in color. Vegetative Charcteristics Blade Hairy: N Blade with White Margins: N Blade Cross section: Flat or involute Blade Notes: Leaf blades are less than 4 inches long and 1/10 inch wide. Leaf blades are smooth and mostly flat but the blade margins may be folded or rolled inward. Sheath Hairy: Y Tuft of Hairs at top of Sheath or Collar: N Ligules: Membranous Auricles (Ear-like lobes at collar area: N Forage Value: Forage value is generally low because this grass usually does not stay green very long.


	Arizona Cooperative Extension Yavapai County 840 Rodeo Dr #C Prescott, AZ 86305 (928) 445-6590	Version 8.0 http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailGrass.php Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022 Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson Legal Disclaimer