GRAMINEAE 



from different localities show great variation, for example, those 

 from west Texas generally have very short spikes and the plants are 

 low, while plants of the same species from Turkey Creek in the "Shite 

 Mountains of Arizona are tall and have long hairy spikes. The spe- 

 cies is widely distributed in the central and southwestern states. 

 Because of the difficulty experienced in collecting pure seed we 

 have planted ten acres on the nurseries for increase. 



* Bouteloua rothrockii. The Bothrock Grama closely remsmbles 

 Blue Grama grass but has several more spikes to the culms and does 

 not form so dense a sod. By stockmen it is usually considered to 

 "be little better than the annual Boutelouas and it is a question 

 whether it should bo planted except in mixture with more valuable 

 gramas such as Side Oats and Hairy Grama. Seed germination tests 

 have on the whole been very disappointing but field tests on the 

 range in the San Simon Valley have shewn promising results. Out- 

 side of Mexico this species is confined to extreme southwestern 

 New Mexico and extreme southern Arizona. 



Bouteloua barhata, Six ".Seeks Grama, is a grama closely re- 

 sembling S. rothrockii. It is probably the best of our six-weeks 

 grasses, coming on rapidly after the summer rains begin. It is a 

 good nurse crop and makes fair forage. B. aristido i des is our other 

 six-weeks grama. It is more abundant than B'. barb ata , probably 

 because it is much less palatable. Seed can be collected of both 

 of these on limited areas by Feppard strippers. 



Bouteloua un if lora , Slender Side Oats Grama. This is a grama 

 closely resembling side oats but more slender and usually not so 

 tall. It is much more limited in its distribution, being confined, 

 according to Hitchcock, to western Texas in our range. It is rather 

 common in the San Antonio mountains but nowhere abundant. It is 

 possible that it is inferior to side oats. Sufficient seed has been 

 collected to plant a small row for observational purposes. 



Buchloe dac tyl o ides, Buffalo Grass, comes into Begion 8 only 

 in eastern Now Mexico. It does not hold the significant place here 

 that it does east of us but what little work has been done with it 

 indicates that it can be induced to occupy sites much further west. 

 At present it is growing in lawns at the State University and at 

 the Soil Conservation Service Nursery at Tucson. In these places 

 it receives some irrigation. The plant, however, is able to with- 

 stand extreme drought once it becomes established. In the Clovis 

 region in New Mexico the combination of heavy grazing and drought 

 killed much of the vegetation in 1D34. The ground looked perfectly 

 bare, scarcely a hare grass caudex showing, -a veritable land of 



-15- 



