| Canada Wildrye Canada wildrye is a native, cool season, short-lived, rhizomatous grass with drooping seedheads having long, curved awns on glumes and lemmas. Several few-seeded florets may arise ia a single node. Seedstalks may be 2 to 5 feet tall. Leaves are broad and 4 to 10 inches long. Heads and then leaves turn russet to tan as the plan cures in the summer. Distribution is extensive, excluding only a few southeastern States. In more humid regions it can be found on uplands, whereas in semi-arid regions it is confined to shaded or otherwise relatively wet areas. When moisture conditions are favorable, Canada wildrye will grow abundant. It is best adapted to medium-textured soils, but will grow in moist spots of both prairie and forest. Pure seedings of Canada wildrye are seldom used because it is short lived; however, it is desirable in mixtures for rapid establishment of protective cover. In naturally-occurring grasslands, it is seldom abundant enough to produce a major portion of the forage. With increased utilization, abundance of Canada wildrye decreases. | |
| Crested Wheatgrass Crested wheatgrass, a cool season bunchgrass, is the wheatgrass easiest to identify because of its definitely flattened seed head. The moderately coarse leaves are mostly basal, flat when growing, and tend to roll inward when dry. Normal plant height is 1½-3 feet. The most common commercial strain is Fairway crested wheatgrass. Two closely related species are also commonly called crested wheatgrass. One of these is desert wheatgrass, A. desertorum, the most common strains being Standard and Nordan desert wheatgrass. Desert wheatgrass has a narrower seedhaed than crested wheatgrass, but uses and adaptation of both are very similar. The second related species is Transbaikal wheatgrass, A. michnoi, which has long, branching rhizomes, making it easy to distinguish from the other two. Crested wheatgrass is a late 1800 introduction from Siberia. It gained favor during the 1930s as a soil holder when it was recognized as being highly drought tolerant, and has been widely planted in areas receiving 8-20 inches of precipitation. In these areas, more acreages of crested wheatgrass have been planted for forage and soil stabilization than any other introduction grass. As it greens up before most native vegetation, it is valuable for early spring grazing. Crested wheatgrass is palatable and nutritious in the spring as well as in the fall if moisture is adequate for regrowth. Crested wheatgrass has good production, excellent persistence, and grows well with alfalfa. Responses to fertilizer are good. Productivity of old stands that that have become decadent can be improved markedly by nitrogen fertilization. This group of grasses does not tolerate salty soil or prolonged flooding. | |
| Green Needlegrass Green needlegrass, also called farther bunchgrass, is a cool season, perennial bunchgrass, varying in height from 18-36 inches. The panicle is somewhat compacted, 1 inch long. Leaves are often rolled, thread-like, 4-12 inches long, glabrous, with prominent veins above. The ligule is a ring of hairs and the sheath is hairy at the margins. Green needle grass can remain green late into the season. This midgrass is an important native of the Northern Great Plains and is found as far south as Arizona. Green needlegrass grows on medium to fine-textured soils in both the True Prairie and the Mixed Prairie. On medium textured soils, green needlegrass grows with western wheatgrass, needleandthread, and blue grama, On finer textured soils, meedleandthread drops out, and on even finer soils blue grama decreases leaving green needlegrass and western wheatgrass as dominants. Green needlegrass is nutritious, palatable, and it decreases under grazing use. Awns are not troublesome to livestock as with some other needle grasses. Green needlegrass is frequently included in seedings of mixed midgrasses but due partly to its hard seed coat, it may se slow to germinate and become established. | |
| Intermediate Wheatgrass Intermediate wheatgrass, an introduced, perennial, cool season, sod-forming grass, grows from 2-4 feet tall. The inflorescence is a spike 4-8 inches long, slightly overlapping spikelets set close to the flowering stems. Leaves are flat, ribbed, broad at the base, and taper to a point. Introduced from Russia in the 1930s, imported hay and pasture grass. Drought tolerance is higher than for smooth brome but less so than crested wheatgrass. Although adapted to a wide range of soils, it will not withstand wet, salty, or alkali soils. This grass is easily established, and fall seedings are generally more successful than spring seedings. It produces excellent hay and pasture, either alone or in combinations with alfalfa. Application of nitrogen fertilizer is necessary to maintain high productiveness when not seeded with a legume. Grazing readiness is about two weeks later than crested wheatgrass. Pubescent wheatgrass, A. trichophorum, which is similar in appearance to intermediate wheatgrass, can be distinguished by the presence of sort, stiff hairs on the heads and seeds. Compared to intermediate wheatgrass, there is some evidence that pubescent wheatgrass is more drought tolerant, persistence, and better adapted to low fertility soils of 10-14 inch rainfall areas than intermediate wheatgrass, but it forms a more open sod. | |
| Orchardgrass Orchardgrass is a long-lived, perennial bunchgrass that commonly forms large tussocks by tillering. Leaves are very soft, flat, except V-shaped near the base. Seeds are borne in a moderately compact to open panicle 4-10 inches long on a stalk 2-4 feet tall. Orchardgrass is an introduction of the late 1700s from Central or Western Europe where it occurs naturally. It is naturalized in the humid regions of North America from Alaska to Florida. In this country, its greater abundance is in the Pacific Northwest and the northeastern states. Orchardgrass is winter hardy and long-lived in its primary range. It does not begin growth as early as many other perennial cultivated grasses, but with adequate summer moisture, regrowth is superior to most other introduced grasses. This makes it excellent pasture throughout the growing season. When planted with an adapted legume, such as alfalfa, its fertilizer requirements are greatly reduced. | |
 | Reed Canarygrass Reed canarygrass is a broad-leaved, coarse sod grass that grows 2-8 feet tall. Many leaves are basal, but some are located along the flowering stalks. Seed heads are a compacted panicle 3-6 inches long, green to lavender in color, short rhizomes from a dense sod. Reed canarygrass is native of temperate central Europe and North America. It naturally occupies wet lowlands where it can form dense colonies, but is adapted to some uplands in areas of high precipitation. It is extremely valuable for seeding in poor drainage areas subject to flooding and inundation. The most extensive acreages of reed canarygrass occur in the northwestern and north central United States. Although reed canarygrass furnishes high yields of good quality hay or silage, it is used mainly for pastures and waterway conservation. When used for grazing, old plant residue must be removed to maintain palatability. The earliness of reed canarygrass, its good regrowth, and its high nutritive value make it a valuable perennial forage. The selections Ioreed from Iowa and Frontier from Ontario are among the most popular in the Northern Great Plains. |
 | Smooth Brome Smooth brome is a perennial sod grass with vigorous rhizomes. Panicles may reach 2-4 feet tall, with many basal leaves which are flat, veined, but smooth and shiny. An M-shaped construction about two-thirds up the leaf blade is a key identifying characteristic. A native of the Old World, presumably of Hungarian origin, smooth brome is now naturalized in the northern two-thirds of the United States. Many selections are brought resistant and winter hardy. Two distinct types are recognized: northern, which is well adapted north from the Northern Great Plains, and southern, which does best further south. The southern type is more aggressive, and where adapted is a better producer than the northern strains. Smooth brome is the most widely cultivated of the brome grasses, with many varieties available. It is palatable, of good quality, and is used as hay, silage, and pasture in both pure and mixed stands. Smooth brome requires high nitrogen levels to remain productive and to prevent or to correct sod binding. Planting with alfalfa or other compatible legumes reduces or eliminates the need for nitrogen fertilizer. Smooth brome grows well on most good soils, but is best adapted in areas having at least 20 inches of annual precipitation. Regrowth of this cool season grass is not good, but summer dormancy may be delayed by use prior to the boot stage of development. |
| Timothy Timothy is a short-lived, cool season, perennial bunchgrass that attains heights of 2-3 feet. The spike-like panicle is cylindrical, very compact, and crowded with numerous slightly bristly florets. Leaves are flat ¼ inch wide, 4 to 12 inches long, and taper to a thin point. Each plant arises from a swollen or bulblike base, a feature that aids immensely in identification. Timothy, an Old World native is now the most widely cultivated introduced hay grass in North America. It grows best in more humid regions of the States, primarily in cooler portions and is frequently planted with legumes. It maintains itself in wet areas and responds well to irrigation and fertilizer. Regrowth is fair. It is adapted to mist moist soils, including moderately alkaline conditions. Creeping foxtail closely resembles timothy in appearance, origin, and use. In contrast to timothy, creeping foxtail panicles turn black upon maturity and florets are soft, fuzzy, and fluffy. Also, it has strong rhizomes, forms dense sod, and is well adapted to soils that are normally too wet to cultivate. With irrigation and fertilizer, production and regrowth are excellent. | |
 | Western Wheatgrass Western wheatgrass is a native, cool season, sod-forming grass with very strong rhizomes. Leaves are stiff, flat when dry, mostly glabrous, strongly ribbed on the upper surface, and feel soft to the touch. Stems and leaves are generally blue-green, giving rise to a less preferred name, bluestem wheatgrass. There is considerable variation in the spike (seed head), with spikelets having 6-10 stiff florets. Western wheatgrass is found in most of the United States. It is a major range grass in the Northern and Central Great Plains, frequently occurring in nearly pure stands. Western wheatgrass is moderately alkali tolerant and grows on soils ranging from sands to clays, but is most important on fine-textured soils. On very fine clays it often shares dominance with green needlegrass, but most it is a important grass in the wetter regions of the Mixed Prairie, in areas transitional to True Prairie, and in drainageways of the drier portions of the Mixed Prairie. This grass is palatable and nutritious when green in the spring, and moderately so during other times of the year. It is commonly used as a hay crop during high precipitation years or when supplemental water is available. Vigorous rhizomes make western wheatgrass one of the more tolerant of the desirable and abundant grasses to grazing pressure and drought. Grazing abuse, however, especially in May and June, will decrease its abundance. When growing conditions improve following drought and/or overgrazing, it may rapidly recolonize areas previously occupied. Western wheatgrass is considered a decreaser in areas having less than 15 inches of annual precipitation, but it can temporarily invade areas previously occupied by tall grasses when they are forced out by severe conditions. Seedings of this grass are common, but establishment may be slow due to poor seedling vigor. |