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Annual Hairgrass - Deschampsia danthonioides
Native Species
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
SNR
C-value:
5
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:
External Links
General Description
Annual. Stems 15–40 cm. Leaves: blades 1–1.5 mm wide, withering by anthesis, ligules 2–3 mm long. Inflorescence a contracted to open panicle, 5–20 cm long. Spikelets 6.5–9 mm long, glumes gradually tapering to a sharp-pointed tip. Lemmas 1.5–3 mm long (Lavin in
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Deschampsia danthonioides can be confused with the following grass:
Ventenata – Ventenata dubia, non-native, undesirable, Noxious
* Growth Form: Winter annual bunchgrass. Mature plants green to tawny brown.
* Leaves (mature): Narrow, folded lengthwise (inrolled), glabrous to puberulent, and ascending. At the seedling stage, leaves are narrow and more needle-like when compared to Cheatgrass and Japanese Brome.
* Ligule: Long, membranous, 1-8 mm, and matched above by a purple-black node.
* Inflorescence & Stem: Open, airy, pyramidal-shaped, upright panicle that emerges (May-June) while stems harden.
* Callus: Bearded (hairy)
* Glumes: 7-nerved and smooth.
* Lemmas: Dimorphic. Lowest lemma with straight, persistent awn. Upper lemmas with a bifid tip and a twisted, bent awn (June-July), 1-1.6 cm long that disarticulates with the floret.
* Caryopsis: Seeds (from upper florets) retain bent, twisted awn after dispersal.
Range Comments
AK to AB, south to CA and NM, east to MT and WY (Kartesz in prep. 2012).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 7
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
- Web Search Engines for Articles on "Annual Hairgrass"
