Bluebunch wheatgrass
Encyclopedia
Pseudoroegneria spicata is a species of grass
known by the common name Bluebunch Wheatgrass. This native western North American
perennial bunchgrass is known by the scientific synonyms
Elymus spicatus and Agropyron spicatum. The grass can be found from Alaska
to Texas
. It occurs in many types of habitat, including sagebrush
, forests, woodlands, and grasslands. It is a dominant grass in some habitat types.
. It is often bluish in color. The roots of the grass have a waxy layer that helps it resist desiccation
in dry soils. In areas with more moisture the grass may produce rhizome
s.
grass for both livestock
and native wildlife
in western North America. It is widely used for revegetation
of degraded habitat in the region, and cultivar
s have been developed.
, Washington, and Iowa
.
The grass is easily outcompeted by noxious weeds such as diffuse knapweed
(Centaurea diffusa) and medusahead
(Taeniatherum caput-medusae).
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 Bluebunch Wheatgrass. This native western North American
North American
North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...
perennial bunchgrass is known by the scientific synonyms
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
Elymus spicatus and Agropyron spicatum. The grass can be found from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It occurs in many types of habitat, including sagebrush
Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
, forests, woodlands, and grasslands. It is a dominant grass in some habitat types.
Description
Bluebunch wheatgrass can often be distinguished from other bunchgrasses by the awns on its seedheads which stand out at an angle nearly 90 degrees from the stemPlant stem
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
. It is often bluish in color. The roots of the grass have a waxy layer that helps it resist desiccation
Desiccation
Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container.-Science:...
in dry soils. In areas with more moisture the grass may produce rhizome
Rhizome
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.
Uses
It is an important forageForage
Forage is plant material eaten by grazing livestock.Historically the term forage has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially...
grass for both livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
and native wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
in western North America. It is widely used for revegetation
Revegetation
Revegetation is the process of replanting and rebuilding the soil of disturbed land. This may be a natural process produced by plant colonization and succession, or an artificial , accelerated process designed to repair damage to a landscape due to wildfire, mining, flood, or other cause...
of degraded habitat in the region, and cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s have been developed.
State grass
It is the state grass of MontanaMontana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Washington, and Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
.
The grass is easily outcompeted by noxious weeds such as diffuse knapweed
Diffuse knapweed
Diffuse Knapweed , also known as White Knapweed or Tumble Knapweed, is a member of the genus Centaurea in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Asia Minor , the Balkans, , Ukraine, and southern Russia. Diffuse knapweed is an annual or biennial plant, generally growing to between 10 and 60 cm...
(Centaurea diffusa) and medusahead
Taeniatherum caput-medusae
Taeniatherum caput-medusae is a species of grass known by the common name medusahead. This aggressive winter annual grass is changing the ecology of western rangelands in North America. Forty-eight percent of the total land area of the United States is rangeland, pastureland, national parks, nature...
(Taeniatherum caput-medusae).