Achnatherum aridum
Encyclopedia
Achnatherum aridum is a species of grass
known by the common name Mormon needlegrass. It is native to the southwestern United States from the Mojave Desert
in California
east to Colorado
and New Mexico
.
s. The bunches of stems reach a maximum height of around 85 centimeters. The inflorescence
is a panicle often partly enfolded in the narrow sheath of the uppermost leaf. The spikelets have hairlike awns 4 to 8 centimeters long.
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
known by the common name Mormon needlegrass. It is native to the southwestern United States from the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
east to Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
.
Description
Achnatherum aridum is a resident of high desert scrub and woodland habitat at some elevation. It is a tuft-forming perennial bunchgrass without rhizomeRhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
s. The bunches of stems reach a maximum height of around 85 centimeters. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a panicle often partly enfolded in the narrow sheath of the uppermost leaf. The spikelets have hairlike awns 4 to 8 centimeters long.