Species Detail Grasses

- Desert Botanical Gardens Herbarium Collection, Usage rights: Attribution-Non-Commercial(CC BY-NC)		Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants Sporobolus giganteus - giant dropseed Plant Form: Grass Family: Poaceae


Home	Plant Communities	Plant List	Search Forbs and Subshrubs	Search Grasses	Search Woody Plants	Additional Resources	About this Website

Click on Any Image for a Larger View
Spikelets Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)


	Grass Description - Glossary of Grass Terminology Origin: Native Season: Warm Habitat Description: Grasslands, woodlands, sandy hills, sandy areas along rivers and roadsides. Plant Communities:Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Riparian, Disturbed Areas Elevation: 4000 - 6000 feet General Description Desc: Tall robust and coarse bunchgrass, 3 to 7 feet tall. Stems have thick bases and tufts of white hairs at the tips of the leaf sheaths. Identification Notes: Tall and robust perennial bunchgrass; wide blades; seedhead contracted, spike-like; sheaths conspicuously hairy on margins and collar; spikelets are pedicellate and laterally compressed, less than 1/8 inch long. 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: Aug - Oct Flower Characteristics Number of Flowers per Spikelet: One-flowered Spikelets One-sided: N Awns: Absent Three Awns: N Awns Bent: N Flower and Seedhead Notes: Seedhead is a dense spike up to 2-1/2 feet tall that is usually included in the uppermost sheath. Branches are appressed or spreading and spikelet-bearing to the base. Spikelets have one fertile floret. Vegetative Charcteristics Blade Hairy: N Blade with White Margins: Y Blade Cross section: Flat or folded Blade Notes: Blades are 4 to 20 inches long and less than 1/2 inch wide. Leaves are flat, involute or folded and smooth with whitish margins and rough edges. Sheath Hairy: Y Tuft of Hairs at top of Sheath or Collar: Y Ligules: Hairy Auricles (Ear-like lobes at collar area: N Forage Value: Early growth provides considerable forage for livestock. However, palatability declines rapidly with maturity.


	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