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Bluebunch
Wheatgrass
Common
Name(s):
Bluebunch Wheatgrass
Scientific
Name:
Pseudoroegneria
spicata (Pursh.) A. Löve
Scientific
Name Synonyms:
Agropyron spicatum
(Pursh.) Scribn. & J.G. Sm.
Symbol:
PSSP6
Description:
Life
Span: Perennial
Origin:Native
Season: Cool
Growth Characteristics:
An
eErect bunchgrass, 1 to 2 ½ feet tall, often with short rhizomes.
Growth begins in April and the plant stays green well into the summer.
Regrowth occurs following fall rains. Reproduces from seeds, tillers,
and rarely by rhizomes.
Seedhead:Slender
spike up to 6 inches long; spikelets not imbricate to 1/8 imbricate,
containing 4 to 8 florets; glumes acute; Bluebunch wheatgrass lemmas
have awns 3/8 to ¾ inches long, divergent at maturity. It
can also be awnless.
Leaves: Numerous, rolled in bud; blades
flat or loosely rolled; glabrous or pubescent above, commonly 1/16
inch wide, tapering to the tip. Sheaths glabrous; ligules short,
collar shaped, membranous; auricles small.
Ecological
Adaptations:
Bluebunch
wheatgrass has a wide spectrum of adaptations at elevations between
4,000 and 9,000 feet. It is found on all aspects on mountain slopes,
benches, basins, or alluvial fans, and in valley bottoms. Bluebunch
wheatgrass is one of the more widely distributed and useful species
in Utah.
Soils: Adapted to a wide variety of
soils, but is found mostly in well-drained, medium to coarse textures
soils which vary in depth from shallow to very deep. It is found
only in small quantities on fine-textured soils. It will tolerate
moist soils, but is most abundant on dry soils.
Associated Species:
Big
sagebrush, Nevada bluegrass, Idaho
fescue, sandberg bluegrass,
and Douglas rabbitbrush.
Uses and
Management:
The
forage value of Bluebunch wheatgrass is excellent for cattle and
horse, good for sheep, elk, and deer. It cures well and makes good
standing winter feed. Season long, continuous grazing should be
avoided. Research has found it can withstand early heavy use if
it is used in a rotational grazing system.
An abundance of bluebunch wheatgrass is an indicator of well managed
rangelands.
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