Subalpine needlegrass, also called Columbia needlegrass, and small mountain 

 porcupinegrass or hairgrass, is one of the fine-leaved, slender-stemmed needle- 

 grasses. This species grows in all 11 western range States, having the central 

 Rocky Mountain as its center of distribution. This grass inhabits dry soils 

 in canyons, and on open hillsides, mountain parks and plains. It is common 

 from the upper sagebrush and woodland types to the dry, open parks and hill- 

 sides at subalpine elevations, and is often associated with lanceleaf yellow- 

 brush (Chrysothanwus lanceolatus) , bluegrasses (Poo, spp.), western yarrow 

 (Achillea lanulosa), and other grasses and weeds. 



Although the palatability of this needlegrass, under different conditions, 

 varies from fair to very good, it is usually good forage for all classes of 

 livestock. Cattle and horses, as a rule, graze it a little more closely than do 

 sheep. On some ranges, especially where a shortage of highly palatable forage 

 exists, subalpine needlegrass is grazed very closely. The fairly large amount 

 of fine leafage produced remains green throughout the growing season and 

 sometimes even until snow falls, thereby increasing the palatability of this 

 grass to cattle and horses. The plant is particularly palatable in the spring 

 and early summer. 



At the limits of its range, subalpine needlegrass grows mainly in scattered 

 stands, but through the central Rocky Mountains it is abundant over large 

 areas and is a valuable forage plant for spring use on lambing grounds as well 

 as for cattle and horses. Subalpine needlegrass often occurs abundantly on 

 ranges where wheatgrass and bluegrass have been killed out by excessive use. 

 It is considered a valuable replacement plant under such conditions. This 

 grass is among the last of the fairly good grasses to disappear from the range 

 under serious overgrazing and is among the first to reappear with the im- 

 provement of badly depleted areas. Subalpine needlegrass withstands heavy 

 grazing by sheep in the central Rockies because its "seeds", although not trouble- 

 some, are usually left to mature. However, in the Southwest, where this grass 

 occurs rather scatteringly and with less palatable species, it is sometimes 

 cropped so closely that seed maturity is prevented and, under such use, it is 

 rather easily killed out. 



Sampson 1 lists subalpine needlegrass as one of the most important and valu- 

 able species of his so-called porcupinegrass-yellowbrush consociation (mixed 

 grass and weed stage), in the Intermountain Region. He states that the cover 

 of small mountain porcupinegrass (i. e., . columbiana) and yellowbrush 

 (Chrysothamnus lanceolatus) next to the wheatgrass consociation, constitutes 

 the highest and most stable forage type. Accordingly where conditions become 

 unfavorable to the maintenance of the wheatgrass cover but not so adverse as 

 drastically to change the fertility and available water content of the soil, 

 porcupinegrass (i. e., S. columMana) and yellowbrush soon gain dominion. 



Subalpine needlegrass is a variable species, and has been divided by some 

 authors into two or more species. The best current authorities now recognize 

 only one variety, 8. columMana nelsoni. This variety differs chiefly in its larger 

 size (up to 40 inches tall), broader culm blades, and larger, denser panicle. 



In Montana, spike oat (Avena hookeri) is sometimes confused on the range with sub- 

 alpine needlegrass because of a general similarity in appearance. They may be readily 

 distinguished, as the spikelets of spike oat are two- to several-flowered, the glumes are 

 longer than the florets, and the awn, though twisted and bent, is attached to the back of 

 the lemma. 



Letterman needlegrass (8. letter ma' ni) is very similar to subalpine needlegrass botani- 

 cally and economically, and it is often difficult to distinguish between the two in the field. 

 The distribution of the two species is about the same, but Letterman needlegrass is less 

 abundant at the northern and southern extremities of their range and does not extend to 

 as high altitudes. Letterman needlegrass, however, is not uncommon in the spruce-fir 

 zone, extends down into the sagebrush areas, and is an abundant and valuable plant on 

 many ranges. 



The forage value of Letterman needlegrass is usually rated approximately equal to that 

 of subalpine needlegrass, varying from fair to very good. However, being a little smaller 

 and more delicate, some observers rate it slightly higher than its dose relative. 



Letterman needlegrass differs from subalpine needlegrass in being somewhat smaller 

 (8 to 24 inches high), with very narrow, tightly inrolled leaves, 2 to 8 inches long, form- 

 ing a rather crowded tuft at the base of the slender, wiry culms. The panicles are usually 

 shorter and fewer-flowered, the seeds slightly smaller, and the glumes slender, thin, and 

 prominently nerved on the back. 



1 Sampson, A. W. PLANT SUCCESSION IN RELATION TO RANGE MANAGEMENT. U. S. Dept. 

 Agr. Bull. 791, 76 pp., illus. 1919. 



