G114 

 NEEDLEGRASSES 



Sti'pa spp. 



Needlegrasses are chiefly perennial bunchgrasses and are of world- 

 wide distribution in temperate regions, mainly on plains and steppes. 

 The genus belongs to the redtop tribe (Agrostideae) and includes a 

 large number of species (about 100), of which about 30 (all peren- 

 nials) occur in the West. The scientific name Stipa is from the 

 Greek word stupe (tow, the coarse part of flax), referring to the 

 feathery beards (awns) of some species. A number of our range 

 species of Stipa, such as sleepygrass and needle-and-thread, have 

 individual names, but most of them are called needlegrasses. The 

 name porcupinegrass is sometimes applied to the whole genus but 

 is best restricted to those species (particularly S. spartea) which 

 have very large, coarse, and quill-like awns. A few species have 

 conspicuously feathery (plumose) awns and are called feather- 

 grasses; some of these are cultivated as ornamentals. 



The needlegrasses are widely distributed over the Western States 

 from the Great Plains to the Pacific coast but are most common and 

 abundant in the Great Basin and in the Southwest. They also ex- 

 tend north into Canada and south into Chile. The number of species 

 increases from north to south, the approximate distribution being 

 as follows : Alaska, 1 species ; Washington, 8 ; Utah and Nevada, 18, 

 and Arizona, New Mexico, and California, about 15 each. 



Taken as a group, the needlegrasses rank fairly high as forage 

 plants on our western ranges. Their foliage tends to be somewhat 

 wiry and occasionally coarse, especially when mature, lessening the 

 palatability to some extent. On the other hand, their foliage usually 

 remains green over a long growing period and cures well on the 

 ground, making the needlegrasses valuable for late fall and winter 

 grazing. Moreover, their abundance, wide distribution, and leafiness 

 enhance their value. Most of them are prolific seeders, have deep, 

 fibrous roots, and withstand grazing well. 



The seeds are mechanically injurious to grazing animals. They 

 sometimes work into the tissues of the mouth and tongue and also 

 into the ears and nose of livestock and game animals, causing con- 

 siderable trouble. Some of the Old World species of Stipa are 

 poisonous and produce a narcotic effect upon grazing animals. Thus 

 far only one of our native range species, sleepygrass (S. robusta, 

 syn. S. vaseyi}, has been found to be poisonous. Knowledge of the 

 genus is not sufficiently complete to warrant the assumption that 

 other western species are wholly free from narcotic properties, al- 

 though there now appears to be no reason for suspecting any except 

 sleepygrass. A European species, S. tenatissima, together with 

 Lygewm, spartiim, make up the esparto of commerce, used in the 

 manufacture chiefly of paper, and also of cordage, coarse cloth, 

 shoes, and baskets. 1 



1 Lamson-Scribner. P. ECONOMIC GRASSES. U. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Agrost. Bull. 14, 

 rev., 85 pp., illus. 1900. 



