Uniola sessiliflora Poir., longleaf uniola 
DESCRIPTION 
Cool-season, rhizomatous perennial. 
Height: 2 to 3 feet. 
Leaf blade: 12 to 24 inches long; bluish green; wide; flat at 
top. 
Leaf collar: Dense cluster of hair. 
Leaf sheath: Open; covered with few to many short hairs; 
basal sheaths narrow. 
Seedhead: Spikelike panicle; branches grow close to main 
stem; spikelets flat and broadly V-shaped at maturity. 
GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS 
Remains green during most of winter and summer following 
maj or growth. Produces most of seed in J une and J uly and some in 
fall. Does best in shade; seldom grows in direct sunlight. Repro- 
duces from short, knotty, pointed rhizomes and from seed. 
DISTRIBUTION 
East Texas and Oklahoma to Atlantic coast, north to Vir- 
ginia. 
SITE ADAPTATION 
Adapted to moist, shaded bottom-land and upland soils. Best 
adapted to areas that are shaded more than 50 percent at midday. 
Grows best on fertile soils but also grows on soils of low fertility. 
It is the principal grass on mixed pine-hardwood forests of the 
South. 
USE AND MANAGEMENT 
Longleaf uniola is grazed by cattle. 
This grass is managed mostly for winter and early spring graz- 
ing. For maximum production, no more than 50 percent of cur- 
rent year’s growth by weight should be grazed off. Late winter 
and early spring grazing deferments of 90 days every 2 to 3 years 
improve plant vigor and allow plants to produce seed. This grass 
is moderately tolerant of controlled burning. 
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