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 Plant - summer Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Seedhead Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Spikelets Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Hairy collar and ligule Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | |
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Origin: Native Season: Warm
Habitat Description: Dry plains and hills, open woods and forest clearings, and along roadsides.
Plant Communities:Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 4000 - 8000 feet
Similar Species: A. nelsonii
Desc:
Stems erect or ascending (curving upward) and growing in dense tufts or clusters, without rhizomes. Leaves mostly below the middle of the stem in 2 vertical ranks on opposite sides of the stem.
Identification Notes: Sheath collars are very hairy. The lower nodes of the seedhead are also hairy. Plant is robust, often more than 3 feet tall. Glumes are firm.
Grass Type: Perennial bunchgrass Rhizomes: N Stolons: N
Large Dense Clump (> 2 feet): N Bushy (highly branched): N
Height with Seedheads: Greater than 36 inches
Seedhead Structure: Branched - contracted Seedhead Droops: N
Flowering Period: Jun - Sep
Number of Flowers per Spikelet: One-flowered Spikelets One-sided: N
Awns: Greater than 1 inch Three Awns: N Awns Bent: Y
Flower and Seedhead Notes: Inflorescence a tight, contracted panicle, with 1 spike or cluster per stem. Awns 3/4 to 1-1/2 inches long or longer, twisted like a corkscrew, and twice geniculate (bent twice).
Blade Hairy:
N
Blade with White Margins:
N
Blade Cross section:
Flat or involute
Blade Notes:
Linear leaf blades 1/8 to 3/8 inch wide and hairless. Leaf blades mostly flat with the margins rolled inward. Bottom surface smooth, top surface roughly ribbed.
Sheath Hairy:
N
Tuft of Hairs at top of Sheath or Collar:
Y
Ligules:
Membranous
Auricles (Ear-like lobes at collar area:
N
Forage Value:
Contains diacetone alcohol which can be poisonous to livestock, hence the common name sleepygrass.
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