North American Wildland Plants: A Field Guide

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North American Wildland Plants

A Field Guide

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS

GRASSES

TRIBE: ANDROPOGONEAE

SPECIES:Andropogon gerardi Vitman

COMMON NAME: Big bluestem (popotillo gigante, turkeyfoot)

LIFE SPAN: Perennial

ORIGIN: Native

SEASON: Warm

Inflorescence Characteristics

type: panicles of 2–7 (commonly 3, hence turkeyfoot) digitate or subdigitate rames (4–15 cm long), long-exserted, terminal and axillary, fewer than 10 per culm, often purplish, sometimes yellowish

spikelets: paired; pedicellate and sessile spikelets nearly equal in length; lower spikelet sessile and perfect (7–10 mm long), florets 2; upper floret perfect; pedicellate spikelet neuter or staminate (4–10 mm long); rame nodes densely hairy

glumes: glumes of sessile spikelet subequal (7–10 mm long), first slightly grooved or dished; glumes of pedicellate spikelet not grooved (4–10 mm long)

awns: lemma of sessile spikelet awned; awn (1–2 cm long) geniculate and tightly twisted below; pedicellate spikelets awnless

Vegetative Characteristics

growth habit: rhizomatous, sometimes appearing cespitose

culms: erect or ascending (0.5–3 m tall), robust, sparingly branched toward apices, glabrous, glaucous, often grooved on one side

sheaths: compressed, purplish at bases, glabrous, glaucous, lower sheaths sometimes villous, margins hyaline

ligules: ciliate membranes (0.4–5 mm long)

blades: flat to involute (5–45 cm long, 2–10 mm wide), lower blades often villous; margins scabrous

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: grows rapidly from midspring to early autumn, many leaves produced in late spring and early summer, growing points stay near ground level until late summer, reproduces primarily from rhizomes

FORAGE VALUES: excellent and highly palatable to all classes of livestock when grazed or consumed in hay, commonly selected by livestock in preference to other grasses in summer, becomes coarse late in the season

HABITATS: deep soils of upland and lowland prairies, open woodlands, and wet overflow sites; most abundant in lowland prairies; adapted to all soil textures; frequently used in seed mixtures for prairie reconstruction and for forage production

TRIBE: ANDROPOGONEAE

SPECIES:Andropogon virginicus L.

COMMON NAME: Broomsedge bluestem (popotillo, broomsedge)

LIFE SPAN: Perennial

ORIGIN: Native

SEASON: Warm

Inflorescence Characteristics

type: panicles of 2–5 (commonly 2) rames (2–3 cm long), paired or digitate, numerous (6–25), broomlike appearance; bases of panicle branches enclosed in an inflated, tawny spathe (3–6 cm long, 2–6 mm wide, usually 3–4 mm wide)

spikelets: paired; lower spikelet sessile and perfect (3–4 mm long), glabrous, florets 2; upper floret perfect; pedicellate spikelet absent or vestigial, usually represented only by the villous pedicel

glumes: acuminate (3–4 mm long), green to yellowish

awns: upper lemma of sessile spikelet with delicate awn (1–2 cm long), awns straight

Vegetative Characteristics

growth habit: cespitose

culms: erect (0.5–1.5 m tall), branched above, slender, sulcate on one side, glabrous or with a few short hairs; basal nodes flat

sheaths: imbricate, lower sheaths laterally compressed, strongly keeled, usually wider than the blades; glabrous, scabrous, or pilose; margins hairy

ligules: ciliate membranes (0.3–1 mm long), truncate

blades: flat or folded (8–55 cm long, mostly 2–6 mm wide), tan to stramineous at maturity, midveins prominent, glabrous to pilose adaxially and near collar

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: starts growth when daytime temperatures average 16–17° C, produces seeds mostly from August or September until frost, reproduces from seeds and tillers, grows in infertile soils, not shade tolerant; may rapidly increase with improper grazing; indicator of early stages of plant succession

FORAGE VALUES: poor for livestock and wildlife, except in early growth stages during spring and early summer, nearly unpalatable when mature; may provide important wildlife habitat

HABITATS: open ground, old fields, open woodlands, lowlands, and sterile hills; sandy to rocky moist soils; most common in abandoned fields and on improperly grazed rangelands; will invade improved pastures

TRIBE: ANDROPOGONEAE

SPECIES:Bothriochloa laguroides (DC.) Herter

COMMON NAME: Silve r bluestem (popotillo plateado, silver beardgrass)

LIFE SPAN: Perennial

ORIGIN: Native

SEASON: Warm

Inflorescence Characteristics

type: panicles of 6 to many rames or compound rames, long-exserted, elongate (usually 7–15 cm long), terminal and axillary, usually fewer than 5 per culm, silvery-white in color; rames erect to ascending (less than 5 cm long), aromatic, margins fringed with long silky hairs; rame joints and pedicels long-villous; pedicels sulcate or dumbbell-shaped in cross section

spikelets: paired; lower spikelet sessile and perfect (3–4 mm long), florets 2; pedicellate spikelet neuter (1.5–3 mm long), narrow

glumes: unequal (2.5–4.5 mm long), firm but papery, without glandular pit; first with 2 keels; second with 1 keel; veins 3

awns: upper lemmas of sessile spikelets with delicate geniculate awns (8–25 mm long), twisted below

other: can be confused with Digitaria californica; compare inflorescence arrangements, spikelets, and awns

Vegetative Characteristics

growth habit: cespitose

culms: erect from geniculate bases (0.6–1.3 m tall), branched below, sulcate; hairs at the nodes short-appressed

sheaths: keeled near collar, glabrous, glaucous; collars usually with a few long hairs on margin; hairs may extend up the leaf margins

ligules: membranous (1–3 mm long), obtuse to acute, erose to entire

blades: flat or folded (2–25 cm long, 3–9 mm wide), linear, acuminate, glaucous; midveins prominent; margins white; often brownish toward the margin

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: starts growth in spring when daytime temperatures reach 21–24° C, inflorescences emerge 3–4 weeks later; produces abundant seeds, reproduces from seeds and tillers, seedlings must be protected from grazing to enhance establishment

FORAGE VALUES: fair to good for all classes of livestock and fair for wildlife, only lightly grazed following maturity

HABITATS: prairies, pastures, rocky slopes, waste grounds, and roadsides; adapted to a broad range of soil textures, does not grow well on moist sites

TRIBE: ANDROPOGONEAE

SPECIES:Heteropogon contortus (L.) P. Beauv. ex Roem. & Schult.

COMMON NAME: Tangl ehead (barba negra, barba, zacate colorado)

LIFE SPAN: Perennial

ORIGIN: Native

SEASON: Warm

Inflorescence Characteristics

type:unilateral spicate racemes (3–8 cm long, excluding awns), terminal and axillary, few; unilateral arrangement lends to a braided appearance

spikelets: paired, imbricate; sessile spikelets perfect (5–8 mm long); calluses well developed (1.5–3 mm long); pedicellate spikelets staminate or neuter (7–10 mm long); few to several pairs at the base of the inflorescence staminate or neuter

glumes: sessile spikelet glumes rounded, dark brownish, papillose-hispid; pedicellate spikelet glumes thin, green, sparingly hispid to glabrous; veins many

awns: upper lemma of sessile spikelet awned; awns weakly twicegeniculate (5–12 cm long), hispid (hairs 0.5–1 mm long), dark brown to black at maturity, tangled with other awns; lemma of pedicellate spikelet awnless

Vegetative Characteristics

growth habit: cespitose

culms: erect to ascending (20–80 cm tall), flat, simple or branched at the base and upper nodes

sheaths: laterally compressed, keeled; margins glandular; glandular depressions on keel; collars with short hairs

ligules: ciliate membranes (about 1 mm long), acute to truncate

blades: flat (6–20 cm long, usually 3–7 mm wide); apices acute to obtuse; midveins prominent adaxially; margins white-glandular, usually ciliate; apices and bases reddish at maturity; somewhat aromatic

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: starts growth in early spring, produces inflorescences June through November, low seed production; relatively easy to establish from seeds, reproduces from seeds and tillers

LIVESTOCK LOSSES: awns may be troublesome to eyes and mouths of grazing animals, especially to sheep

FORAGE VALUES: fair to good for cattle and horses before maturity; little value to sheep due to coarseness

HABITATS: open, dry, rocky hills and canyons, usually in sandy soils; most abundant on heavily grazed rangelands

TRIBE: ANDROPOGONEAE

SPECIES:Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash

COMMON NAME: Little bluestem (popotillo colorado, popotillo cañuelo, prairie beardgrass)

LIFE SPAN: Perennial

ORIGIN: Native

SEASON: Warm

Inflorescence Characteristics

type: spicate racemes (3–8 cm long), several per culm, terminal and axillary, jointed, breaking apart into spikelet pairs as the rachis disarticulates; peduncle included in sheaths; pedicels semiterete

spikelets: paired; sessile spikelets perfect (4–10 mm long), florets 2; upper floret perfect; pedicellate spikelets staminate or neuter; rachises and pedicels pilose

glumes: sessile spikelet glumes thickened (4–10 mm long), subequal, rounded on the back, glabrous to scabrous, firm

awns: upper lemma of sessile spikelet awned; awns once-geniculate and twisted (3–15 mm long); lemma of pedicellate spikelet awnless or with a short awn

other: spicate racemes have a zigzag pattern at maturity

Vegetative Characteristics

growth habit: cespitose or rhizomatous; rhizomes short or well developed

culms: erect (0.4–1.2 m tall), sometimes from decumbent bases, slender to robust, flat, not grooved, branching above; bases leafy, green to purplish, glaucous

sheaths:keeled, compressed laterally, glabrous to rarely pubescent

ligules: ciliate membrane (1–3 mm long), usually truncate

blades: flat (8–60 cm long, 2–8 mm wide), linear, acute, glabrous to hispid, scabrous adaxially and on margins; midveins strongly thickened below

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: starts growth in late spring, inflorescences appear in midsummer, matures in early autumn, seeds mature October to November; reproduces from tillers, rhizomes, and seeds

FORAGE VALUES: good while immature for all classes of livestock; after inflorescences mature, forage is fair for cattle and horses but too coarse for sheep, goats, and wildlife; can be an important component of upland hay

HABITATS: prairies, open woodlands, and dry hills in all soil textures; most conspicuous with season-long, moderate grazing which allows spot grazing leaving some plants ungrazed; frequently used in seed mixtures for revegetation

TRIBE: ANDROPOGONEAE

SPECIES:Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash

COMMON NAME: India ngrass (zacate indio, yellow indiangrass)

LIFE SPAN: Perennial

ORIGIN: Native

SEASON: Warm

Inflorescence Characteristics

type: panicles of compound rames (15–35 cm long, 6–8 cm wide), loosely contracted, yellowish or tawny; apices of rames, rame nodes, and pedicels grayish-hirsute

spikelets: paired; sessile spikelet perfect (5–8 mm long); pedicellate spikelet absent, represented only by the hairy pedicel

glumes: subequal (5–8 mm long), coriaceous, tawny or yellowish, first hirsute with edges inflexed over the second, abaxial surfaces flat or convex

awns: upper lemma of perfect spikelets awned; awns once-geniculate (1.5–2.8 cm long), tightly twisted below the bend, loosely twisted above

Vegetative Characteristics

growth habit: cespitose or rhizomatous; rhizomes short, scaly

culms: erect (1–2.4 m tall), robust to slender; nodes pubescent

sheaths: round or sometimes compressed, not keeled, glabrous to rarely pilose; auricles erect; extending into firm, pointed projections (2–7 mm long) flanking and adnate to the ligules

ligules: membranous (3–6 mm long)

blades: flat or somewhat keeled (to 60 cm long, 5–10 mm wide), constricted at the bases, apices acute to acuminate, midveins conspicuous abaxially

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: starts growth in midspring from rhizomes, matures from September to November, reproduces from rhizomes and seeds

FORAGE VALUES: excellent, palatable to cattle and horses throughout the summer, but does not cure well and is generally considered only moderately palatable after maturity; fair forage for winter grazing; produces good hay if cut before maturity

HABITATS: prairies, bottomlands, open woodlands, and meadows (moderately salt tolerant) in all soil textures; withstands occasional flooding; sometimes grown and managed with fertilization and irrigation in pure stands; a common component of seed mixtures for revegetation

TRIBE: ANDROPOGONEAE

SPECIES:Tripsacum dactyloides (L.) L.

COMMON NAME: Easte rn gamagrass (zacate maicero, zacate maizero, maicillo)

LIFE SPAN: Perennial

ORIGIN: Native

SEASON: Warm

Inflorescence Characteristics

type: spicate racemes or panicles (12–40 cm long) of 2–5 rames, terminal (occasionally axillary)

spikelets: unisexual; staminate spikelets above, paired, florets 2 (7–12 mm long), coriaceous, sessile or one slightly pedicellate in 2 rows on the branch, often breaking apart at maturity; pistillate spikelets below (7–10 mm long), solitary, indurate, beadlike, sunken in depressions of the branch or rachis, breaking into single spikelet segments at maturity

glumes: staminate spikelet glumes equal (7–12 mm long), somewhat pyriform, coriaceous, keeled; pistillate spikelet glumes equal (5–9 mm long), indurate, shiny, often embedded in the rachis

awns: none

other: plants monoecious; pistillate portion of inflorescences one-fourth or less of the entire length

Vegetative Characteristics

growth habit: rhizomatous; rhizomes thick, knotty; forming extensive colonies

culms: erect to decumbent (1.5–3 m tall), stout, solid, slightly compressed, glabrous

sheaths: round to prominently keeled, glabrous, shiny, usually shorter than the internodes

ligules: ciliate membranes or lacerate membranes (to 2.5 mm long), truncate

blades: flat (30–75 cm long, 1–4.5 cm wide); midveins prominent, whitish; margins scabrous

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: most growth is in the spring and early summer, stays green until late autumn; produces seeds from July to September, although few seeds are produced; most reproduction is from rhizomes

FORAGE VALUES: excellent for all classes of livestock and wildlife throughout the growing season, makes good hay, foliage breaks down rapidly and it is not dependable for winter grazing; usually one of the first species to be eliminated by improper grazing

HABITATS: well-drained soils of upland and lowland prairies, swales, stream banks, and grasslands; most abundant in fertile soils; does not tolerate standing water for long periods; occasionally seeded for pastures

TRIBE: ARISTIDEAE

SPECIES: Aristida oligantha Michx.

COMMON NAME: Prairi e threeawn (tres barbas anual, oldfield threeawn)

LIFE SPAN: Annual

ORIGIN: Native

SEASON: Warm

Inflorescence Characteristics

type: racemes (5–20 cm long, 1–4 cm wide), loose, purplish

spikelets: widely spaced, florets 1; lemma firm (6–28 mm long, excluding the awns); callus well developed, pilose; pedicel short, scabrous or pubescent

glumes:nearly equal (2–3 cm long); first veins 3–7; second usually veins 1, slightly longer than the first (compare to Aristida purpurea)

awns:lemma awn columns branch into 3 awns, awns divergent (3–7 cm long), nearly equal or central awn longest; first glume awnless or short-awned; second glume mucronate

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Excerpted from North American Wildland Plants by James Stubbendieck, Stephan L. Hatch, Neal M. Bryan, Cheryl D. Dunn, Angie Fox, Kelly L. Rhodes Hays, Bellamy Parks Jansen, Debra Meier. Copyright © 2017 Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. Excerpted by permission of UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Wildland Plants
Grasses
Family
POACEAE
Tribe Scientific Name
ANDROPOGONEAE Andropogon gerardi
Andropogon virginicus
Bothriochloa laguroides
Heteropogon contortus
Schizachyrium scoparium
Sorghastrum nutans
Tripsacum dactyloides
ARISTIDEAE Aristida oligantha
Aristida purpurea
AVENEAE Agrostis stolonifera
Avena barbata
Avena fatua
Avenula hookeri
Calamagrostis canadensis
Calamagrostis rubescens
Deschampsia cespitosa
Koeleria macrantha
Phalaris arundinacea
Phleum alpinum
Phleum pratense
Trisetum spicatum
BROMEAE Bromus carinatus
Bromus diandrus
Bromus hordeaceus
Bromus inermis
Bromus tectorum
CYNODONTEAE Bouteloua curtipendula
Bouteloua dactyloides
Bouteloua eriopoda
Bouteloua gracilis
Bouteloua hirsuta
Bouteloua repens
Chloris cucullata
Cynodon dactylon
Hilaria belangeri
Hilaria jamesii
Hilaria mutica
Schedonnardus paniculatus
Spartina gracilis
Spartina pectinata
DANTHONIEAE Danthonia californica
Danthonia intermedia
Danthonia parryi
ERAGROSTEAE Blepharoneuron tricholepis
Calamovilfa longifolia
Distichlis spicata
Eragrostis curvula
Eragrostis trichodes
Leptochloa dubia
Muhlenbergia montana
Muhlenbergia porteri
Muhlenbergia torreyi
Redfieldia flexuosa
Scleropogon brevifolius
Sporobolus airoides
Sporobolus compositus
Sporobolus cryptandrus
MELICEAE Melica bulbosa
PANICEAE Digitaria californica
Panicum hallii
Panicum obtusum
Panicum virgatum
Paspalum distichum
Pennisetum ciliare
Setaria leucopila
POEAE Dactylis glomerata
Festuca campestris
Festuca idahoensis
Poa fendleriana
Poa pratensis
Poa secunda
Vulpia octoflora
STIPEAE Achnatherum hymenoides
Achnatherum nelsonii
Hesperostipa comata
Nassella leucotricha
Nassella pulchra
TRITICEAE Agropyron cristatum
Elymus canadensis
Elymus elymoides
Elymus trachycaulus
Hordeum jubatum
Hordeum pusillum
Leymus cinereus
Pascopyrum smithii
Pseudoroegneria spicata
Taeniatherum caput-medusae
Thinopyrum intermedium
Grasslike Plants
Family Scientific Name
CYPERACEAE Carex filifolia
Carex geyeri
Carex nebrascensis
Carex utriculata
Schoenoplectus acutus
JUNCACEAE Juncus balticus
Forbs and Woody Plants
Family Scientific Name
ANACARDIACEAE Rhus aromatica
APIACEAE Conium maculatum
ASTERACEAE
Tribe Scientific Name
ANTHEMIDEAE Achillea millefolium
Artemisia cana
Artemisia filifolia
Artemisia frigida
Artemisia ludoviciana
Artemisia nova
Artemisia spinescens
Artemisia tridentata
ASTEREAE Amphiachyris dracunculoides
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus
Ericameria nauseosa
Grindelia squarrosa
Gutierrezia sarothrae
Heterotheca villosa
Solidago missouriensis
CICHORIEAE Agoseris glauca
Crepis acuminata
Taraxacum officinale
EUPATORIEAE Liatris punctata
HELIANTHEAE Ambrosia deltoidea
Ambrosia dumosa
Ambrosia psilostachya
Baileya multiradiata
Balsamorhiza sagittata
Flourensia cernua
Hymenoxys hoopesii
Hymenoxys odorata
Ratibida columnifera
Wyethia amplexicaulis
Wyethia mollis
SENECIONEAE Senecio flaccidus
Senecio serra
Tetradymia canescens
Family Scientific Name
BETULACEAE Alnus incana
BRASSICACEAE Descurainia pinnata
Stanleya pinnata
CANNABACEAE Celtis pallida
CAPRIFOLIACEAE Symphoricarpos albus
Symphoricarpos occidentalis
CHENOPODIACEAE Atriplex canescens
Atriplex confertifolia
Atriplex gardneri
Grayia spinosa
Halogeton glomeratus
Kochia americana
Kochia scoparia
Krascheninnikovia lanata
Salsola tragus
Sarcobatus vermiculatus
CLUSIACEAE Hypericum perforatum
CORNACEAE Cornus sericea
CUPRESSACEAE Juniperus monosperma
Juniperus scopulorum
DENNSTAEDTIACEAE Pteridium aquilinum
ELAEAGNACEAE Shepherdia canadensis
EPHEDRACEAE Ephedra trifurca
ERICACEAE Arctostaphylos pungens
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
FABACEAE Acacia berlandieri
Acacia farnesiana
Acacia greggii
Acacia rigidula
Amorpha canescens
Astragalus mollissimus
Dalea purpurea
Lupinus caudatus
Medicago polymorpha
Oxytropis lambertii
Prosopis glandulosa
Psoralidium tenuiflorum
FAGACEAE Quercus gambelii
Quercus stellata
GERANIACEAE Erodium botrys
Erodium cicutarium
Geranium richardsonii
GROSSULARIACEAE Ribes cereum
KRAMERIACEAE Krameria erecta
MALVACEAE Sphaeralcea coccinea
ONAGRACEAE Chamaenerion angustifolium
PINACEAE Pinus edulis
Pinus ponderosa
PLANTAGINACEAE Penstemon glaber
Plantago patagonica
RANUNCULACEAE Delphinium bicolor
Delphinium occidentale
RHAMNACEAE Ceanothus cuneatus
Ceanothus fendleri
Ceanothus integerrimus
Ceanothus velutinus
ROSACEAE Adenostoma fasciculatum
Amelanchier alnifolia
Cercocarpus ledifolius
Cercocarpus montanus
Coleogyne ramosissima
Dasiphora fruticosa
Fallugia paradoxa
Prunus virginiana
Purshia stansburyana
Purshia tridentata
Rosa woodsii
SALICACEAE Populus tremuloides
Salix bebbiana
Salix exigua
ZYGOPHYLLACEAE Larrea tridentata
Glossary
Authorities
Checklist of Wildland Plants
Selected References
Index