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Checklist and Identifying Characteristics of Some Range Plants of Montana
| Scientific Name |
Common Name |
Ecology |
Description |
| Aegilops cylindrica |
Jointed goatgrass |
MAWIv |
Spikelet cylindric, placed flatwise at each joint of the rachis and
fitting into it. The joints thicken at the summit. At maturity the spike
falls entire. Strongly barbed fruit is injurious to livestock. A weedy
grass that has recently appeared in Montana wheat fields. |
| Elymus albicans |
Montana wheatgrass |
MRCD |
Long, lax auricle. No ligule. Awn of lemma about one-half inch long
and divergent when dry. Very similar to bluebunch wheatgrass, except
that albicans is rhizomatous. Plains and dry hills in the eastern half
of the State. |
| Agropyron desertorum |
Crested wheatgrass |
MBC |
A drought resistant bunchgrass introduced from Russia. Spikelets
distinctly flatwise to the rachis. Dark green color before maturity.
Minute auricle. |
| Elymus lanceolatus |
Thickspike wheatgrass |
MRCIc |
Similar to western wheatgrass except the lemmas are pubescent on the
back. Rather long lax auricle. No ligule. Plains and light textured
mountain slopes. |
| Thinopyrum ponticum |
Tall wheatgrass |
TBC |
Introduced from southern Russia. Reproduces by seed and short
rootstocks at the edge of the mature plant. Long, coarse, light green
basal leaves. Spikelets do not overlap. The spikelets and the four to
ten enclosed seeds grow away from the stem like a sickle. Glumes are
square across the top. Does well on moist alkaline soils. |
| Elymus repens |
Quackgrass |
TRC |
Introduced from Eurasia. Its scaly, yellow creeping underground
stems spread rapidly causing quackgrass to be a rather serious weed in
croplands. Leaves are green to yellowish-green. Compact heads with
overlapping spikelets. Glumes are long pointed. Prominent auricle. |
| Agropyron riparium |
Streambank wheatgrass |
MRC |
Resembles thickspike wheatgrass. Blades are firm and narrow, glumes
narrow and pointed. Lemmas smooth or somewhat hairy along the lower
edges of the lemma. Prominent auricle. Very short jagged topped ligule.
Moist meadows and slopes. |
| Pascopyrum smithii |
Western wheatgrass |
MRCIc |
Prominent auricle and no ligule. Leaves rigid, bluegreen color with
prominent nerves. Lemma awnless or short straight awns. Favors clayey
sites. |
| Pseudoroegneria spicata |
Bluebunch wheatgrass |
MBCD |
Fine leaves that branch off of the stem. Top side of leaves are
gray-green and underside is dark, waxy green. Spike slender. Awns on
lemma one-half to three-quarters inch long that diverge at about a
45-degree angle when matured. Auricle very small. All upland sites. |
| Elymus subsecundus |
Bearded wheatgrass |
MBCD |
Similar to slender wheatgrass except lemmas have three-eighths to
one and one-eighth inch straight awns. Spikelets often twisted to one
side of the spike. Moist meadows and open woods. |
| Elymus trachycaulus |
Slender wheatgrass |
MBCD |
Glumes and lemmas awnless or nearly so. Glumes nearly as long as
spikelet. Slender spike. Grows on wide variety of sites and elevations. |
| Agropyron trichophorum |
Pubescent wheatgrass |
TBCD |
Introduced from Europe. Very similar to intermediate wheatgrass
except that spikelets are hairy. |
| Agrostis gigantea |
Redtop |
MRIv |
Introduced from Europe. Leaves are short and basal. The spreading
panicle bears many tiny reddish colored flowers. One floret to a
spikelet. No hair at base of lemma. Glumes nearly equal. Auricles
absent. Ligule membranous, 1 to 5 milimeters long, rounded and split at
the tip. Subirrigated and overflow sites. |
| Agrostis scabra |
Rough Bentgrass |
MBCIc |
Wide panicle that is many branched and very fine and delicate
appearing. Pedicels very rough. Short membranous ligule that is jagged
or split on top. Edges of sloughs and moist meadows in low condition
rages. |
| Alopecurus alpinus |
Alpine foxtail |
MRCD |
Stems erect, one to two and one-half feet tall. Seed head somewhat
resembles alpine timothy except that alpine foxtail appears to have a
more hairy seed head because of woolly glumes. Lemma awned near the
base. Mountain meadows. |
| Alopecurus pratensis |
Meadow foxtail |
MSCD |
Stems erect, one to two feet tall. Glumes hairy on keel. Awn
projects a little above glumes. Somewhat resembles timothy in
appearance. Subirrigated. |
| Andropogon gerardii |
Big bluestem |
TRWD |
Large tufts with short rhizomes. Its seed heads have from two to six
branches all arising from one point and somewhat resembles a turkey’s
foot. Numerous white hairs between the seeds. Twisted awns. Short fringe
topped ligule. Long hairs around collar. Grows three to six feet tall. |
| Schizachyrium scoparium |
Little bluestem |
MBWD |
Tufted perennial that is often reddish--especially after a frost.
Leaves folded in bud shoot. Short pointed ligule. A single branched
panicle tops each stem. Hair covered and awned seeds typical of
bluestems. Dry hills and open woods in eastern half of Montana. |
| Aristida purpurea |
Purple threeawn |
MBWIc |
One floret or seed to spikelet. Three awns about two or three inches
long from each lemma. Usually reddish cast. Leaves fine and inrolled.
Long hairs at collar. Densely tufted. Plains, foothills and dry mountain
slopes throughout Montana. |
| Beckmannia syzigachne |
American sloughgrass |
MAC |
In some cases this plant may be perennial. May be three to four feet
high. Long sharply pointed ligule that is rather wavy edged and often
lacerated at the tip. Spikelets closely overlapping in two rows along
one side of the rachis. Glumes equal. Shallow sloughs and marshes.
Favors clay soils with a shallow layer of organic matter. |
| Bouteloua curtipendula |
Sideoats grama |
MRWD |
Scaly rhizomes, but grows like a bunchgrass. Leaves flat (sometimes
inrolled), taper to a sharp point, little twisted, distinctly veined
with scattered hairs. Long sparse hairs at collar. Spikes, twenty to
fifty, hanging down from one side of rachis. Plains and rocky slopes in
eastern Montana. |
| Bouteloua gracilis |
Blue grama |
SR |
Short, flat, lax leaf that tapers to a sharp point. Leaf light to
medium green, sparsely pubescent on upper surface. Auricle absent. Hairy
at collar and ligule. Eyebrow type seed head. Dry hills and plains. |
| Buchloe dactyloides |
Buffalograss |
SSWIc |
Male and female flowers produced on separate plants (dioecious).
Leaf blades gray-green, rather short and narrow and sparsely hairy. Hair
around collar and minute ligule of hairs. Dry plains and heavy soils in
the eastern part of Montana. |
| Bromus inermis |
Smooth brome |
MRC |
Leaf blades long, flat, tapering to a sharp point and dark green.
Sheath closed nearly to the top. Ligule minute and membranous. No
auricle. Leaf blade is crimped where it leaves the collar blade. |
| Bromus marginatus |
Mountain brome |
MBCD |
Spikelet quite strongly flattened. Lemmas hairy, compressed and
ridged on back. Minute membranous ligule. Sheaths with downward growing
hairs. Wide leaf blade. Grows one and one-half to three feet tall.
Usually at high elevations, or annual precipitation over 15 inches. |
| Bromus tectorum |
Cheatgrass brome |
MACIv |
Closed hairy sheath. Fairly small jagged ligule. Panicle open and
drooping and reddish or purplish after maturing. Lemma narrow, gradually
tapering to a point and awned from a bifid apex. Disturbed upland sites. |
| Calamagrostis canadensis |
Bluejoint |
TRCD |
Rather heavy seeded opened panicle. One floret to a spikelet. Hair
on base of lemma abundant and about as long as the lemma. Awn delicate,
straight and extends slightly beyond the tip of the lemma. Leaf blades
one to two feet long, flat and lax. Prominent ligule. Wetlands and
subirrigated sites. |
| Calamagrostis stricta |
Northern reedgrass |
TRCD |
Stems tufted one to four feet tall with rather firm rigid leaf
blades. Relatively few stems produce seed heads. Fairly tight panicle.
Hairs on the lemma about as long as the seed. Delicate straight awn
about as long as the lemma. Ligule rather prominent and rounded.
Wetlands and subirrigated sites. |
| Calamagrostis montanensis |
Plains reedgrass |
MRCIc |
Stems stiff and erect. Resembles western wheatgrass except for the
prominent pointed ligule. Seed head similar to prairie Junegrass except
that the lemma is hairy from the base and has a slightly bent awn about
as long as the lemma. Favors clayey sites. |
| Calamagrostis purpurascens |
Purple reedgrass |
MRCD |
Awns longer than the glumes, and bent abruptly. Tuft of hairs form
base of lemma. Panicle dense, usually pinkish or purplish. Upland sites
15 inches P. Z. |
| Calamagrostis rubescens |
Pinegrass |
MRC |
Leaf blades long, flat and lax and dark green. Collar divided by
midrib and pubescent with soft hairs. Ligule less prominent than on most
of the reedgrasses. Callus hairs about one-third as long as lemma. Awn
slightly longer than the lemma and abruptly bent. Few seed heads
produced. Open moist woods in the western half of Montana. |
| Calamovilfa longifolia |
Prairie sandreed |
TRWD |
Long, scaly, sharply pointed rhizomes. Long hairs at the collar and
ligule consists of a fringe of hairs. Leaves light green color and
distinctly veined, flat or inrolled wide near the base and tapering to a
long fine point. One seed to a spikelet. Seed covered with hairs about
half as long as the lemma. Grows on sandy sites. |
| Danthonia intermedia |
Timber oatgrass |
MBCIc |
Leaf blade has fairly long soft hairs. Hair around the collar.
Ligule composed of minute hairs. Panicle narrow, few flowered and often
purplish. Stout, flat, twisted, bent awn. Hair on edge of lemma. Self
fertilized spikelets are hidden within the leaf sheath at the base of
the stems and after ripening the stems break off and distribute the
seed. Mountain meadows and slopes above 15 inch P. Z. |
| Danthonia unispicata |
Onespike danthonia |
SBCI |
Short, dense, rosette-like tufted perennial. Long soft hairs on both
sheath and blades. Only one seed head on a stem. Stout, twisted, bent
awn. Usually grows on shallow or very shallow sites in low condition. |
| Deschampsia caespitosa |
Tufted hairgrass |
MBCIc |
Panicle resembles redtop at first glance but has two or more florets
to spikelet. Spikelet has pale or purple tinge. Short callus hairs on
lemma and awn from base of lemma. Ligule very long and pointed. Sheats
shredding. Subirrigated and wetland sites. |
| Distichlis stricta |
Saltgrass |
SRWIc |
Blades rarely more than four inches long, flat and sharp pointed.
Lower leaves much shorter than the upper leaves. Leaves are pale green
before maturity and after maturity a characteristic yellow often with
dark spots. Leaves usually taste salty. Collar narrow and distinct tuft
or long hairs at margin. Scaly, yellowish, creeping rootstocks. Male and
female flower heads on different plants. Spikelets crowded and
compressed. Grows on saline sites. |
| Dactylis glomerata |
Orchardgrass |
MBC |
Spikelets in close cluster looking somewhat like a rabbit’s foot.
Leaf blade V-shaped when young and flat when mature. Leaf sheaths very
much flattened. Auricle present. Ligule prominent and split pointed. |
| Elymus canadensis |
Canada wildrye |
MBCD |
Spike thick, nodding and bristly with fairly long awns. Auricle
present. Very short ligule. Deep soil pockets and overflow sites. |
| Leymus cinereus |
Basin widrye |
TBCD |
Grows three to seven feet tall. Rhizomes when present are short and
thick. Spikelets often three to five at each node. Blades strongly
nerved, flat, as much as three-fourths inch wide. Prominent auricles and
ligule. Deep soil pockets and saline overflow and saline subirrigated
sites. |
| Festuca idahoensis |
Idaho fescue |
MBCIc |
Bluish green, fine-leaved densely tufted perennial. Margin of collar
forms a smooth shoulder. No auricle or ligule. Leaves tightly inrolled.
Roots black. Short awn or lemma. Upland sites over 14 inches P. Z. |
| Festuca campestris |
Rough fescue |
MBCD |
Dense, dark green, rough basal leaves. Shoulder at collar that often
has slight fringe of hairs. No ligule or auricle. Base of stems
pinkish-red color. Upland sites in good to excellent condition. |
| Leucopoa kingii |
Spike fescue |
MBCD |
Very similar to rough fescue. Leaves not as inrolled as rough
fescue. Plants are dinecious (male and female flowers on separate
plants). Fairly prominent jagged topped ligule. Lower sheaths reddish
brown in age. Generally found above 6500 feet elevation in rather rocky
areas. |
| Hordeum jubatum |
Foxtail barley |
SBCIv |
An erect, fine-leaved, densely tufted perennial with light
bluish-green leaves. Lower sheaths pubescent. Ligule very short and
follows contour of the collar. Auricle absent. Spike is nodding and
blushy like a foxes tail. Spike has three spikelets at each node, each
containing a single seed. Spreading barbed awns grow from the tip of
each seed. Glumes are also awned and barbed. |
| Koeleria macrantha |
Prairie Junegrass |
MBCIc |
Tufted perennial. Leaves basal and usually two to four inches tall.
Panicle erect, spikelike, dense. No auricle. Ligule generally absent or
very minute. All upland sites. Plants vary considerably in their
appearance under different growth conditions and at different stages of
growth. |
| Melica spectabilis |
Purple oniongrass |
MBCD |
Stems one to three feet tall, bulbous at the base. Blades flat or
inrolled and sometimes purplish. Spikelets purplish tinged. Several
florets to the spikelet. Glumes broad and papery. Meadows and rocky
slopes above 15-inch P. Z. |
| Muhlenbergia asperifolia |
Scratchgrass |
MRCIc |
Long, slender rhizomes. Auricle absent. Very short, jagged topped
ligule. Panicle wide, fine and breaks away at maturity. Saline
subirrigated sites in low condition. |
| Muhlenbergia cuspidata |
Plains muhly |
SBCIc |
Fairly short, flat topped, fringed ligule. Auricle absent. Erect,
fine-leaved, densely tufted perennial with hard, bulb-like scaly bases.
Upland sites in the eastern half of Montana. |
| Muhlenbergia richardsonis |
Mat muhly |
MRCIc |
Dense tufts of short, dull green leaves surrounding the one to many
seed stems. Stems grow in a zig-zag fashion node to node. Very slender
panicle with tiny dark colored seed heads. No auricle. Ligule long with
blunt tip. Dry or moist open, often saline, soils throughout Montana. |
| Achnatherum hymenoides |
Indain ricegrass |
MBCD |
Long, dark colored, tightly inrolled leaf blades. No auricle. Long
ligule split at tip at minutely hairy along margins. Short hairs at
collar. The wide feathery panicle has a whitish color caused by the
light colored chaff. Single round, black colored seed per floret which
is surrounded by white hairs. Grows on light textured soils. |
| Phalaris arundinacea |
Reed canarygrass |
TRCD |
Two to five feet tall. Wide, heavy veined, light green leaves. No
auricle. Shiny, brown, flax-like seed. Panicle looks somewhat like
orchardgrass. Wetland and subirrigated sites. |
| Phleum alpinum |
Alpine timothy |
MRCD |
Seed head much shorter than the common timothy. Seed head usually
one-half to three-fourths inch long. Glumes equal, bristly on the back
and awned. Basal leaves abundant, soft and light green in color. No
auricle. Short, flat slightly jagged topped ligule. Mountain meadows and
wetlands. |
| Phleum pratense |
Timothy |
MRCIv |
Seed head is a tight cylindrical panicle which may be as much as six
inches long. Glumes equal, bristly on back and awned. Stems swollen or
bulblike at the base. Leaf blades fairly wide and light green. Ligule
membranous. Leaf often crimped at the collar. Found as an exotic in
moist sites. |
| Poa species |
Bluegrasses |
- |
Leaf tip boat shaped. Double midrib down the center of leaf blade
resembles railroad track. Spikelets compressed and awnless. Auricles
absent. Spikelets two to several-flowered. |
| Poa ampla* |
Big bluegrass |
MBCD |
Lemmas without hairs. Ligule quite long and obtuse. Sheaths smooth.
Blades flat. Panicle narrow, four to six inches long, usually rather
dense. Meadows and slopes throughout Montana. |
| Poa canbyi* |
Canby bluegrass |
MBCD |
Stems fairly stout--average more than one and one-half feet tall.
Basal leaves not numerous. Often has greenish blue color. Ligule shorter
than secunda with some jaggedness. Previous year’s crown usually
evident. Upland sites. |
| Poa compressa |
Canada bluegrass |
MRCIv |
Stems strongly flattened. Leaves folded in bud shoot. Ligules very
short and flat topped. |
| Poa cusickii |
Cusick’s bluegrass |
MBCIc |
Numerous erect, very slender, bluish green basal leaves. Several
nearly leafless stems. During the short flowering stages in early June,
the head enlarges considerably and becomes almost silvery in color.
Panicle much wider and more compressed than Sandberg bluegrass. Ligule
very short and square topped. |
| Poa pratensis |
Kentucky bluegrass |
SBCIc |
Lemma hairy and cobwebby at base. Ligule very short and nearly flat
topped. |
| Poa secunda |
Sandberg bluegrass |
SBCIc |
Numerous basal leaves that are usually folded and seldom more than
two inches long. Greens up very early in the spring but matures about
the same time as Cheatgrass brome. Stems very slender and less than one
foot tall. Stems and seed heads often have brownish red cast during
ripening stage. Straw colored and shiny when mature. Fine, very short,
stiff hairs on back of lemma. Fairly long pointed awn. (Longer than Poa
canbyi.) Upland sites. |
| Puccinellia nuttalliana |
Nuttall’s alkaligrass |
MBCD |
Stems usually erect, slender, rather stiff and firm at the base,
mostly one to two feet tall. Blades flat. Panicle pyramidal and open,
branches clustered and spreading. Spikelets three to six flowered.
Ligule quite prominent. No auricle or no hair at the collar. Saline
subirrigated and saline overflow sites. |
| Schedonnardus paniculatus |
Tumblegrass |
SBWIv |
Stems four to eight inches tall or often nearly prostrate on the
ground. Leaves crowded at the base. Blades flat, one to two inches long.
Spikes one to four inches long, branching off of the stem. Lateral
spikes break off at maturity and rolls before the wind as a tumbleweed.
Short conspicuous lingual. No auricle. |
| Elymus elymoides |
Bottlebrush squirreltail |
MBWIc |
Sheaths and blades light green and softly pubescent. Flat topped
very short ligule. Small auricles. Glumes very narrow. Awns about two
inches long. Rachis breaks easily at the base of each joint. Dry hills
and plains and saline soils. |
| Spartina gracilis |
Alkali cordgrass |
TRWD |
Tall, erect, stiff and leathery leaved perennial. Ligule a dense
fringe of very short hairs. No auricles. Plants less than three feet
tall. The flower head consists of from four to eight spikes which cling
to the wavy stem. Glumes awnless. Each spike consists of up to forty
pairs of closely packed spikelets, all growing on one side of the spike
and away from the stem. Saline subirrigated. |
| Spartina pectinata |
Prairie cordgrass |
TRWD |
Very similar to alkali cordgrass, except usually more than three
feet tall. Glumes awned. Collar minutely hairy at the throat. Grows in
subirrigated sites. |
| Sporobolus airoides |
Alkali sacaton |
MBWD |
Large, tough branches. Blades flat and dark green color, soon
becoming inrolled. Panicle long and wide spreading pyramidal. One floret
per spikelet. Long hairs at the throat of the collar. Ligule very short
fringe of hairs. Saline subirrigated and sline overflow sites. |
| Sporobolus cryptandrus |
Sand dropseed |
MBWIc |
The seed head is a closed panicle when it emerges from the boot but
opens into a pyramidal panicle at flowering. Ligule consists of minute
hairs. Long hairs around the collar. Margin of the sheath rather
conspicuous with soft, tangled, long hairs. Leaf blades flat and lax.
Sandy sites. |
| Stipa species** |
Needlegrasses |
- |
Spikelets one flowered disjointing above the glumes and in such a
manner as to leave a sharp point attached to the seed. Lemmas tightly
wrapped around seed with a prominent awn. No auricle. |
| Achnatherum nelsonii |
Columbia needlegrass |
MBCD |
Resembles green needlegrass except no hair at throat and collar and
seeds more narrow and slightly longer than green needlegrass. Very
short, slightly wavy topped ligule. |
| Aesperostipa comata |
Needleandthread |
MBCIc |
Leaves usually inrolled. Rather long, delicate ligule. Upper ligule
often bilobed. Three to four-inch twisted awn on needle sharp seed.
Upland sites but favors sandy soils. Often dominant on “go back” land. |
| Nassella virdula |
Green needlegrass |
MBCD |
Tall growing bunchgrass with waxy green leaves. Leaves are flat and
lax, usually about as long as the rest of the plant. Short tuft of hair
at throat of collar. Very short smooth topped ligule. Awn about one to
one and one-half inches long. Deep soil and overflow sites. Favors
clayey textures.ko0 |
| Achnatherum richardsonii |
Richardson’s needlegrass |
MBCD |
Leaves basal and inrolled. Panicle open, the branches slender,
distant and spreading or drooping. Awn about one inch long. Ligule
minute. Deep soils above 15-inch P. Z. |
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