Photo courtesy of Dr. Roger Banner, USU Extension
Common Name(s):
Photo courtesy of Dr. Roger Banner, USU Extension
Annual Crested Wheatgrass
Scientific Name(s):
Scientific Name Synonyms:
Agropyron triticeum Gaertn.
Symbol:
Description:
Seedhead: Stems have dense, fine hair at the base of the seedhead. Its seedheads closely resemble small crested wheatgrass seedheads and are compact spikes ≤1” long by ?” wide. Spikelets are ¼-?” long including awn tips and protrude from the rachis outward. Its glumes are thick, ?-¼” long, compressed from the sides, bag-shaped, and awn-tipped. Lemmas are slightly longer than the glumes, less thick, and awn-tipped. Seedheads break loose at the base of the rachis at maturity with the spike falling to the ground intact.
Ecological Adaptations:
Annual wheatgrass occurs in salt desert shrub, sagebrush, and juniper communities at elevations below 5,500’ where annual precipitation is ≤10”. It grows well on desert flats and lake bottoms, depressions, and drainages where runoff accumulates periodically and soils are clayey and saline.
Soils: Often found in areas where runoff accumulates, clayey and saline soils.
Uses and Management:
Annual wheatgrass is common in low areas of the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin. It provides nutritious seasonal forage for cattle, sheep, pronghorn, small mammals, and other wildlife (much like cheatgrass), but loses its appeal as forage as it completes its lifecycle and matures. Plant residue may accumulate and become a source of fine fuel and increasing the risk of summer fire.