Plant Image
Leaves
Mahan Park


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Sporobolus interruptus - black dropseed

Plant Form: Grass

Family: Poaceae


   
 
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Seedhead
Mahan Park
John Kava
  Grass Description -   Glossary of Grass Terminology


Origin: Native    Season: Warm
Habitat Description: Openings and meadows in pinyon-juniper woodlands and ponderosa pine forests in dry soil.
Plant Communities:Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest
Elevation: 5000 - 7500 feet

Similar Species: Blepharoneuron tricholepis
General Description

Desc: Dense, erect, perennial bunchgrass with stems up to 28 inches tall, leaves crowed at the base, short rhizomes. Dark golden color when cured.
Identification Notes: Tufted, erect, perennial, unbranched stems. Short rhizomes. Ligules densely hairy. Seedhead well exerted from sheath, branches appressed or spreading. Spikelets grayish, 1/4 inch long; unequal glumes. Seeds larger than Blepharoneuron tricholepis.
Grass Type: Perennial bunchgrass  Rhizomes: Y  Stolons: N
Large Dense Clump (> 2 feet): N  Bushy (highly branched): N
Height with Seedheads: 12 to 24 inches
Seedhead Structure: Branched - contracted  Seedhead Droops: N
Flowering Period: Jul - Sep
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 2 to 8 inches long, narrowly pyramidal, open to somewhat contracted, bluish green or brownish gray at maturity. Second glume as long as the spikelet.
Vegetative Charcteristics

Blade Hairy: Y    Blade with White Margins: N    Blade Cross section: Flat or folded
Blade Notes: Blades mostly basal, 3 to 16 inches long, less than 1/4 inch wide, often thinly covered with long soft hairs.
Sheath Hairy: Y    Tuft of Hairs at top of Sheath or Collar: N    Ligules: Membranous and hairy
Auricles (Ear-like lobes at collar area: N

Forage Value: Very good.


  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
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