GRAMINEAE 



Phalaris tuberosa , Canary Grass. This is very vigorous in 

 the Salt River Valley and at Tucson. It is a tall coarse exotic 

 grass with a loose rhizomatous base and is suitable for hay and 

 pasture. It is not drought resistant but is a wonderful soil bin- 

 der in moist situations. It is not hardy at Shiprock and owing to 

 the rhizomatous character of the roots which require a couple of 

 seasons to become established, cannot be used as an annual. 



Phragmites communis. The Mexicans call this Carrizo or Cane 

 Grass. It" grows commonly in damp places,- in fact it is a quite 

 definite indicator of underground moisture. Occasionally it is 

 found in stretches of desert along arroyos as in places in the 

 Petrified Forest or even along ridges as in the Navajo country 

 south of Shiprock, but even in such localities there is always a 

 slight seepage. As a soil binder this grass is par excellent, its 

 usefulness being limited only by available moisture. It is not 

 commonly thought of as a forage plant but indications in the Navajo 

 country are that it is quite highly palatable for sheep. The culms 

 are variously used by Mexicans and Indians as material for lattice 

 work in adobe huts, in mats, screens, thatching, cordage, etc. The 

 culms are reported to contain some sugar. 



While this plant produces large clusters of flowering heads, 

 it produces very little seed in our region. For this reason its 

 propagation must bo by roots. It has not been grown in the nursery 

 for distribution ur> to the present. 



What appears to be a strain of this plant grows along Fish 

 Creek above the Apache Trail Highway in Arizona. Here it has not 

 produced flowors or seeds since it was first observed by the Soil 

 Conservation Service personnel, nor has it produced them in culti- 

 vation in the nursery. This strain produces abundant large rhizomes 

 and the culms root readily at the nodes where the tops happen to 

 fall to the ground. It seems to be well adapted to moist stretches 

 along draws or streams where erosion is likely otherwise to be 

 heavy. This is being planted experimentally along ditch banks on 

 the nursery at Tucson. Plants closely resembling this strain were 

 collected near Hatch, New Mexico, and planted in the bottoms along 

 the Gila. Those are very promising as soil binders. 



Phragmites communis is a grass of world-wide distribution. 



Poa pratensi s , Kentucky Blue Grass, has assumed a position 

 in our erosion control program which would have been considered 



