Table 2 . --Earliest (E) , latest (L), and mean (M) dates of developmental events for 

 grasses on the southwest exposure at ? ,100-ft. elevation over a 5-year period. 



Species • 



Lode 



• Active • 



• growth ■ 

 : starts : 



Flower 

 stalks 

 appear 



• Flowers 

 ■ in 

 : bloom 



Seed dis- 

 seminat ion 

 starts 



• Drying 

 : begins 



• Plants 

 '• dried 



Agropyron 



E 



A /or 



4/ 



6/ 1 



7/ ly 





7/23 



9/ 6 



spicatum 



L 



5/15 



7/3 



7/25 



(1) 



8/ 30 



9/28 





M 



5/4 



6/27 



7/20 





8/7 



9/17 



Danthonia 



E 



5/1 



bill 



"7/1 



7/1 



7/25 



7/20 



9/8 



intermedia 



T 



L 



b/ 



"7/1 



111 



*7 / O A 



7/20 



o / 1 r 



8/15 



8/20 



10/12 





M 



5/6 



bill 



7/12 



8/5 



7/31 



9/22 



Festuca 



c 



C 





6/ 2 



// 1 (J 



"7 / O C 



// Z5 



7/23 



O / O "7 



al 11 



idahoensis 



T 



L 



5/16 



6/ 30 



'7 / 1 O 



7/18 



8/10 



8/20 



10/12 





M 



c; /A 

 5/4 



bill 



// 14 



o/ 4 



0/7 



o/ 3 



9/16 



Koeleria 



E 



4/25 



6/7 



7/6 



■ 7/31 



7/20 



8/21 



cristata 



L 



5/17 



6/28 



7/20 



8/25 



8/20 



10/7 





M 



5/6 



6/22 



7/15 



8/12 



8/3 



9/11 



Stipa 



E 



5/1 



6/23 



7/14 



7/28 



7/30 



9/3 



occidental is 



L 



5/18 



7/5 



7/22 



8/14 



8/20 



10/20 





M 



5/7 



6/29 



7/18 



8/5 



8/8 



9/25 



■^Maturing seed destroyed by insects. 



The interval between cessation of flowering and the beginning of seed dissemina- 

 tion differed greatly among forbs. Delphinium seed began to disseminate an average of 

 only 5 days after flowering, but more than 40 days elapsed before the seed of Anemone, 

 Besseya, and Fritillaria began to fall. These intervals were typically much shorter 

 for late-flowering species (average, 17 days) than for the early bloomers (average 

 36 days). Usually, grasses began to drop seed between 18 and 28 days after flowering. 



Maximum differences between years in date of seed dissemination ranged from 8 to 

 44 days, according to species; the average was about 20 days regardless of whether the 

 plants were early or late bloomers. Date of seed dissemination for Fritillaria was 

 least variable from year to year (8 days) . Species that showed the greatest yearly 

 variation were Agoseris (44 days), Galium (33 days), and Linum (27 days). 



Different species dried at widely different times. Those that bloomed early 

 usually dried earlier than those that bloomed late, but there were several exceptions; 

 for example, both Besseya and Anemone bloomed very early (mid-May), but usually did 

 not dry until early and late August, respectively. Conversely, Zygadenus bloomed in 

 early July and was usually dry by the end of that month. Although the grasses usually 

 began to dry in early August, they did not reach the dry stage until approximately the 

 middle of September. Comandra and the grasses were the last species to dry. The 

 leaves of Antennaria apparently remained viable beyond the growing season in which 

 they were formed. Agoseris and Frasera plants that flowered generally dried much 

 sooner than those that remained in a strictly vegetative condition. 



10 



