Origin: Native   Season: Cool and Warm Habitat Description: Sandy or rocky soils in open sites. Grasslands, sagebrush, open woodland and disturbed areas. Plant Communities:Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Disturbed Areas Elevation: 2000 - 5600 feet
General Description
Desc:
Slender, decumbent to erect annual with a few ascending or rarely spreading branches. Seedheads are solitary or in small tufts. Stem nodes are swollen and/or brittle. Fibrous root system. Often less than 12 inches tall. Identification Notes: Annual; spikelets mostly 5-flowered; awns less than 1/2 inch long, 2 to 12 inches tall. Grass Type: Annual Rhizomes: N Stolons: N Large Dense Clump (> 2 feet): Y Bushy (highly branched): Y Height with Seedheads: 12 to 24 inches Seedhead Structure: Branched - contracted Seedhead Droops: N Flowering Period: May - Jul 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: Compressed spikelets have 6 or more flowers.
Vegetative Charcteristics
Blade Hairy:
Y
Blade with White Margins:
N
Blade Cross section:
Flat or involute
Blade Notes:
Short, linear leaves are flat or involute and have parallel venation.
Sheath Hairy:
N
Tuft of Hairs at top of Sheath or Collar:
N
Ligules:
Membranous Auricles (Ear-like lobes at collar area:
N
Forage Value:
Supplies browse for six weeks after a rain before it dries.
Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590