redtop tribe (Agrostideae) and consists of about 10 annual and perennial 

 grasses of the Temperate and Arctic regions of the world. Alpine timothy is 

 widely distributed throughout the cooler and higher portions of North America, 

 ranging from Alaska and Labrador southward to New Hampshire, northern 

 Michigan, South Dakota, New Mexico, and southern California. It also occurs 

 in Mexico, Chile, Patagonia, and in northern Europe and Asia. 



As the common name and the specific name alpinum imply, this species grows 

 principally in alpine and subalpine situations, although it also extends down 

 through the spruce-fir zone and into the aspen zone. Alpine timothy also occurs 

 at sea level in Alaska and along the Northwest coast where the cool sea breezes 

 produce a climate simulating that of alpine regions. It is a moisture-loving 

 plant, as is suggested by the generic name Phleum, which is derived from 

 phleos, an old Greek name for some kind of water plant or reed. Some authori- 

 ties 1 believe that the Greek phleos was the cattail (Typha), and that Linnaeus, 

 Latinizing it to Phleum, applied it to the timothies because of the natural habi- 

 tat and the cattaillike spikes. This species characteristically grows in moist or 

 wet mountain meadows, parks, along stream banks, in swales, around springs, 

 and in the rich muck of bogs and marshes. It also appears on relatively well- 

 drained soils on grassy slopes, in weed and aspen types, dry meadows, and 

 occasionally in moist sagebrush parks. This grass is usually associated with 

 other moisture-loving plants such as bluegrasses, bistort, clovers, hairgrass, 

 meadow sedges and rushes, redtops, and willows. The stands are often dense 

 and almost pure, but in many localities this species occurs scatteringly and 

 forms only a minor portion of the range vegetation. 



Alpine timothy is relished by all classes of livestock and is usually given 

 a palatability rating of good to very good for cattle and horses, and fairly 

 good to good for sheep. It is highly palatable to elk and is one of the grasses 

 eaten most readily by deer. The plants produce a fair amount of nutritious 

 foliage, which usually remains green and succulent throughout the summer 

 and is especially valuable as a late feed. Stockmen consider it a washy feed 

 during the early part of the season when it is young and very succulent. In 

 some localities sheep make little early use of this grass as they avoid the 

 excessively wet situations where it often occurs. However, as the season ad- 

 vances the soils usually become drier, and the plants, being less: succulent, 

 are then grazed with unusual relish. Alpine timothy is able to withstand 

 heavy trampling fairly well, as it reproduces by means of shoots from its 

 decumbent base as well as by seed. 2 The fertility of the seed crop, which 

 usually ripens during August and September, is considerably above the average 

 of typical subalpine herbaceous plants. Sampson's tests of alpine timothy seed 

 in northeastern Oregon 3 gave an average germination of 60.5 percent. 



Alpine timothy is often confused with the common cultivated timothy. The 

 two species have somewhat the same general appearance, but alpine timothy 

 is a much smaller plant. It ranges from 6 inches to 2 feet in height; has 

 a short, egg-shaped or oblong flower head about one and one-half to three times 

 as long as broad, and short leaves. The leaf sheaths are usually shorter than 

 the space between the joints (internodes) on the stem and the upper sheaths 

 are inflated. In contrast, cultivated timothy is a tall plant, usually 2 to 6 

 feet high, with elongated cylindrical flower heads up to 8 inches long, and 

 leaves up to 13 inches in length ; the leaf sheaths are often longer than the 

 internodes and are usually not inflated. Furthermore, the awns on the glumes 

 of alpine timothy are up to one-eighth of an inch long, or about twice the 

 length of the awns of timothy, giving the flower heads a bristly appearance. 

 The stems of alpine timothy are not swollen at the base but are often bent 

 or decumbent; on the other hand, timothy stems are distinctly swollen or 

 bulblike at the base. 



1 Stebler, F. G., and Schroter, C. THE BEST FORAGE PLANTS FULLY DESCRIBED AND 

 FIGURED. . . . Transl. by A. N. McAlpine. 171 pp., illus. London. 1889. 



2 Sampson, A. W., and Chase, A. RANGE GRASSES OF CALIFORNIA. Calif. Aer. Expt 

 Sta. Bull. 430, 94 pp., illus. 1927. 



rT * Sampson, A. W. IMPORTANT RANGE PLANTS: THEIR LIFE HISTORY AND FORAGE VALUE 

 U. S. Dept. Agr. Bull. 545, 63 pp., illus. 1917. 



