and Washington; it also occurs in Europe and Asia. Although June- 

 grass rarely forms pure stands and, as a rule, occurs sparsely on 

 the higher ranges, it is one of the most common and widely dis- 

 tributed of the western grasses, extending over a wide altitudinal 

 range and growing on a variety of dry to moist soils. Throughout 

 the sagebrush, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, aspen, and to some 

 extent, the spruce belts, this species is often an important forage 

 member of the sagebrush, mixed grass, weed, and open timber types. 



In general, junegrass is fairly good to good forage and is relished 

 early in the season by all classes of livestock, but sheep do not graze 

 the stalks after seed maturity. In some localities it is considered 

 very good to excellent forage, but it is doubtful if it is ever as palat- 

 able as certain bluegrasses and other leading forage species. June- 

 grass is a comparatively low-growing species and, while leaves are 

 generally produced in abundance, they are relatively short and 

 mostly basal, so that the species does not yield a large amount of 

 forage per plant. 



This grass flowers during June and July and seed is disseminated 

 from July to September. The seed is of low viability, but the nor- 

 mally abundant crop counterbalances this low germination to a con- 

 siderable degree. The plants also stool well on areas where compe- 

 tition with other species is not too keen. Junegrass matures rela- 

 tively early over much of its range, which probably explains why 

 it is able to withstand considerable grazing, and yet maintain itself 

 in a fairly satisfactory condition on closely utilized ranges. 



Junegrass is variable in appearance throughout its wide range. 

 It bears some resemblance to certain species of bluegrass (Poo, spp.). 

 The bluegrasses usually have folded leaves w y ith blunt, boat-shaped 

 tips, and the stalks below the flower heads are free of hairs. In 

 junegrass, on the other hand, the leaves are usually flat or inrolied 

 and sharp-pointed, and there are fine hairs on the .stalks just below 

 the flower heads. Ordinarily also junegrass flowers and matures 

 somewhat earlier than those species of bluegrasses with which it is 

 likely to be confused. 



Plains reedgrass ( C alamagrostis montanensis) and spike trisetum 

 (Trisetum spicatwn) are sometimes mistaken for junegrass. The 

 reedgrass bears a sharp-pointed, stiff leaf just below the head, which 

 feature is lacking in mountain junegrass. The heads of spike trise- 

 tum are awned, whereas those of junegrass are awnless. 



KOELERI4S (Koele'ria spp.) 



Koeleria includes about 15 species of annual or perennial grasses occurring 

 in the temperate regions of both hemispheres. While it has been placed by 

 some botanists in the fescue tribe (Festuceae), most authorities prefer to 

 place it in the oat tribe of grasses (Aveueae), since its glumes are relatively 

 long and it has the other characters of this tribe except for the fact that the 

 dorsal awns typical of the oat tribe are lacking. Junegrass is the only repre- 

 sentative of the genus native to the Western States. One other species, K. 

 phleoides, an annual native to Europe, has become established in western Florida 

 and Alabama and in California and Oregon. 



The genus was named for G. Ludwig Koeler (1764-1807), a German botanist, 

 one of the first to make a special study of grasses, by Christian Persoon ( 1755- 

 1837), father of the science of plant diseases (phytopathology). 



