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Arizona
Range Grasses Back to the Table of Contents
Growth habit: A coarse, perennial bunchgrass 1
to 3 feet tall.
Occurrence Primarily on rocky slopes and canyons from 1,000 to 5,500
feet in all counties except Apache, Navajo, Coconino, Greenlee, and
Maricopa. Because of its low palatability this grass usually persists
on heavily grazed ranges . Forage Value Tanglehead begins growth early in the spring and at this time is readily eaten by cattle and horses. It becomes coarse and less palatable as it matures and is rated as poor forage on a year-long basis.
Areas in which tanglehead occurs intermixed with other
grasses must be managed on a key species (or group of species) basis.
Tanglehead will be lightly used on ranges grazed year-long because of
its low palatability. If it were completely used, most of the other
forage plants would be overgrazed. Ranges on which tanglehead makes up a major part of the
forage should be used during the spring months to take advantage of
the early growth of the grass. Tanglehead has received much attention as a grass for
reseeding the more arid portions of the desert grassland, particularly
the low rocky ridges. It is one of the easiest grasses to establish
under conditions of low rainfall. The low seed production, however,
and the difficulty of cleaning the long-awned seeds make its use in
extensive seeding programs problematic.
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Cooperative
Extension,College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, The University of
Arizona