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Montana Field Guides

Spike-oat - Helictotrichon hookeri
Other Names:  Avenula hookeri

Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S4
C-value: 5


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

External Links






 
General Description
Cool season, perennial bunchgrass Stems 20–40 cm. Leaves: ascending, the larger blades (2-)3–4 mm wide, flat to folded along midrib; sheaths with overlapping margins; ligule membranous. Inflorescence a contracted panicle 2–11 cm long. Spikelets 11–15 mm long with mostly 3 to 6 florets; glumes nearly enclosing the florets. Lemmas 3–5 mm long, uniformly awned from the middle, the awns twisted and bent; palea well developed. Disarticulation above glumes; unit of dispersal the floret (Lavin in Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Species Range
Montana Range Range Descriptions

Native
 


Range Comments
NM north to northwestern Canada, east to QC (Lavin in Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 127

(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
Northern plains and middle to high elevation montane meadows and open understory (Lavin in Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

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?
    • Harvey, S.J. 1990. Responses of steppe plants to gradients of water soil texture and disturbance in Montana, U.S.A. Ph.D. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 34 p.
    • 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.
    • Miller, J.G. 1978. An ecoligical study of creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis Moench.) in Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 154 p.
    • Williams, K.L. 2012. Classification of the grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, forests and alpine vegetation associations of the Custer National Forest portion of the Beartooth Mountains in southcentral Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 376 p.
  • Web Search Engines for Articles on "Spike-oat"
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Citation for data on this website:
Spike-oat — Helictotrichon hookeri.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from