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Arizona
Range Grasses Back to the Table of Contents
Growth habit: A rather large, coarse, leafy bunchgrass,
commonly 1 1/2 to 3 1/2
feet tall that almost always grows intermixed with other moderately
tall grasses or with grama grasses.
Occurrence This is a typical mountain foothill grass that usually
occurs on rocky, well-drained sites intermixed with shrubs and other
grasses. It may be found at elevations of 1,000 to 6,000 feet and has
been reported from Mohave, Graham, Gila, Pinal, Cochise, Pima and Santa
Cruz counties. Forage Value In spite of its coarseness, this grass ranks as fairly good forage while green. After the plants mature and the leaves dry they are usually grazed only lightly. As it almost never forms pure stands and usually makes only a small percentage of the grass stand in any area, it rarely provides an appreciable portion of the feed on any range.
Ranges where this grass is found should be managed primarily to maintain or increase the grama grasses with which it is usually associated. As the gramas are more palatable than crinkle-awn, this degree of use will also preserve this grass. Foothill ranges where crinkle-awn is common often become infested with turpentine bush, amole or other undesirable shrubs. Where fire can be kept under control these shrubs may often be effectively removed by burning.
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Cooperative
Extension,College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, The University of
Arizona