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Central Plains Biosphere Reserve
The Central Plains Biosphere Reserve (established in 1976 and withdrawn in 2017) was a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located in the western central Great Plains in north-central Colorado in the shortgrass prairie. The reserve encompasses the Central Plains Experimental Range (CPER) administered by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. History The Central Plains Experimental Range has a long history of research on shortgrass prairie ecosystems and the effects of range management practices. Several areas in the reserve were farmed and grazed for many years and are now embedded in a countryside of intense agriculture. In the Dust Bowl years of the mid 1930s, many farms and ranches of the western Great Plains were abandoned due to drought, overgrazing and soil blown from plowed fields. The U.S. Forest Service requested that the Central Plains Experimental Range be established to research improved management practices on fragile grasslands. The fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nunn, Colorado
Nunn is a Statutory Town in Weld County, Colorado, United States. The population was 416 at the 2010 census. A post office called Nunn has been in operation since 1905. The town was named after Tom Nunn, who was credited with preventing a nearby train wreck. Geography Nunn is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 471 people, 158 households, and 118 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 174 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 78.98% White, 0.42% African American, 1.91% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 14.86% from other races, and 3.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 24.84% of the population. There were 158 households, out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bouteloua Dactyloides
''Bouteloua dactyloides'', commonly known as buffalograss or a buffalo grass, is a North American prairie grass native to Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is a shortgrass found mainly on the High Plains and is co-dominant with blue grama (''B. gracilis'') over most of the shortgrass prairie. Buffalo grass in North America is not the same species of grass commonly known as "buffalo" in Australia. It should not be confused with '' Stenotaphrum secundatum'' varieties such as 'Sir Walter' or 'Palmetto'. Description Buffalograss is a warm-season perennial shortgrass. It is drought-, heat-, and cold-resistant. Foliage is usually high, though in the southern Great Plains, foliage may reach . Buffalograss is usually dioecious, but sometimes monoecious or with perfect flowers. Flower stalks are tall. The male inflorescence is a panicle; the female inflorescence consists of short spikelets borne in burlike clusters, usually with two to four spikelets per bur. Buffalograss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ericameria Nauseosa
''Ericameria nauseosa'' (formerly ''Chrysothamnus nauseosus''), commonly known as Chamisa, rubber rabbitbrush, and gray rabbitbrush, is a shrub in the sunflower family (Aster) found in the arid regions of western North America. Two subspecies have been described, ''consimilis'' (the green form with 8 varieties) and ''nauseosa'' (the gray form with 14 varieties).Completion of ''Ericameria'' (Asteraceae: Astereae): diminution of ''Chrysothamnus'' 1993 Phytologia 75: 74–93, G. L. Nesom, G.I. Baird. Description ''Ericameria nauseosa'' is a perennial shrub growing to .Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed. p 198 The leaves, depending on the subspecies, are long and narrow to spatula-shaped. Both the flexible (rubbery) stems and the leaves are greenish-gray with a soft felt-like covering. It blooms from August to October [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gutierrezia Sarothrae
''Gutierrezia sarothrae'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names broom snakeweed, broomweed, snakeweed, and matchweed. It is a subshrub native to much of the western half of North America, from western Canada to northern Mexico, and can be found in a number of arid, grassland, and mountain habitats. It can be toxic to livestock in large quantities, due mainly to the presence of saponins. The species was utilized by various Native American groups for medicinal and other purposes. Description ''Gutierrezia sarothrae'' is a perennial subshrub that ranges from in height. The stems are green to brown, bushy, and herbaceous, and branch upwards from a woody base. The stems die back during dormancy, giving the plant its broom-like appearance. They range from smooth to having some short hairs, and may be resinous and therefore sticky when touched. As the stems are about the same length, this causes the plant to often appear domed or fan-shaped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atriplex Canescens
''Atriplex canescens'' (or chamiso, chamiza, four-wing saltbush) is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae native to the western and midwestern United States. Description ''Atriplex canescens'' has a highly variable form, and readily hybridizes with several other species in the genus ''Atriplex''. The degree of polyploidy also results in variations in form. Its height can vary from 1 foot to 10 feet, but 2 to 4 feet is most common. The leaves are thin and 0.5 to 2 inches long. It is most readily identified by the fruits, which have four wings at roughly 90 degree angles and are densely packed on long stems. This species blooms from April to October. Habitat Fourwing saltbush is most common in early succession areas such as disturbed sites and active sand dunes. It is also found in more mature successions dominated by sagebrush—''Artemisia tridentata'' and shadscale. Uses Among the Zuni people, an infusion of dried root and blossoms or a poultice of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opuntia Polyacantha
''Opuntia polyacantha'' is a common species of cactus known by the common names plains pricklypear,Johnson, K. A. 2000''Opuntia polyacantha''.In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Retrieved May 11, 2011.''Opuntia polyacantha''. USDA Plants Profile. Retrieved May 11, 2011. starvation pricklypear,.''Opuntia polyacantha''. Flora of North America. Retrieved May 11, 2011. and hairspine cactus, panhandle pricklypear. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphaeralcea Coccinea
''Sphaeralcea coccinea'', the scarlet globemallow, is a perennial plant growing 10–30 cm tall from spreading rhizomes with a low habit. They have grayish stems with dense, star-shaped hairs and alternately arranged leaves. The leaf blades are 2–5 cm long, palmately shaped, and deeply cut, with 3–5 main wedge-shaped segments. The undersides of the leaves have gray hairs. The 2-cm-wide flowers are reddish-orange and saucer-shaped, with 5 notched, broad petals, in small terminal clusters. Plants flower from May to October. This species is native to grasslands and prairies of the Great Plains and western regions of northern North America. While on the course of his expedition, near the Marias River The Marias River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 210 mi (338 km) long, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is formed in Glacier County, in northwestern Montana, by the confluence of the Cut Bank Creek and the Two Med ..., Meriwether Lewis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vulpia Octoflora
''Festuca octoflora'', also known as ''Vulpia octoflora'', is an annual plant in the grass family ( Poaceae).Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd E. 2013, p 285 The common name six week fescue is because it supplies about 6 weeks of cattle forage after a rain. Other common names include sixweeks fescue, six-weeks fescue, pullout grass, eight-flower sixweeks grass, or eight-flowered fescue. Range and habitat This bunchgrass is native to North America occurring across a large part of Canada, in all of the lower 48 contiguous United States, and Baja California of Mexico. It grows in open, sunny places between shrubs and in burn areas. It is commonly found in burn areas after a fire. Varieties ''Festuca octoflora''/''Vulpia octoflora'' varieties include: *''Vulpia octoflora'' var. ''glauca'' (AKA ''Festuca octoflora'' Walter var. ''tenella'', ''Festuca gracilenta'' Buckley, ''Festuca tenella'' Willd. Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aristida Purpurea
''Aristida purpurea'' is a species of grass native to North America which is known by the common name purple three-awn. Distribution This grass is fairly widespread and can be found across the western two thirds of the United States, much of southern Canada and parts of northern Mexico. It is most abundant on the plains. Description This is a perennial bunchgrass, growing erect to under a meter-3 feet in height, and the flower glumes In botany, a glume is a bract (leaf-like structure) below a spikelet in the inflorescence (flower cluster) of grasses (Poaceae) or the flowers of sedges (Cyperaceae). There are two other types of bracts in the spikelets of grasses: the lemma and ... often assumes a light brown to reddish-purple color. There are several varieties with overlapping geographical ranges. This is not considered to be a good graze for livestock because the awns are sharp and the protein content of the grass is low. References External links Calflora Database: '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sporobolus Cryptandrus
''Sporobolus cryptandrus'' is a species of grass known as sand dropseed. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in southern Canada, most of the United States, and northern Mexico. Description ''Sporobolus cryptandrus'' is a perennial bunchgrass forming a tuft of stems growing up to a meter long, erect to decumbent in form. The stem bases are thick but not hard or woody. The leaves are up to long and rough-haired along the margins. Some stand out from the stems in a perpendicular fashion. The inflorescence is dense and narrow when new, spreading out and becoming diffuse, with some branches sticking straight out, with age. The base of the inflorescence is often sheathed within the top leaf, which spreads out beside it. The grass produces abundant seeds; an individual inflorescence is capable of bearing 10,000 seeds. Habitat Sand dropseed is a common grass in many types of North American prairies and grows in a wide variety of other habitats, including disturbed are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
C4 Photosynthesis
carbon fixation or the Hatch–Slack pathway is one of three known photosynthetic processes of carbon fixation in plants. It owes the names to the 1960's discovery by Marshall Davidson Hatch and Charles Roger Slack that some plants, when supplied with 14, incorporate the 14C label into four-carbon molecules first. fixation is an addition to the ancestral and more common carbon fixation. The main carboxylating enzyme in photosynthesis is called RuBisCO, which catalyses two distinct reactions using either (carboxylation) or oxygen (oxygenation) as a substrate. The latter process, oxygenation, gives rise to the wasteful process of photorespiration. photosynthesis reduces photorespiration by concentrating around RuBisCO. To ensure that RuBisCO works in an environment where there is a lot of carbon dioxide and very little oxygen, leaves generally differentiate two partially isolated compartments called mesophyll cells and bundle-sheath cells. is initially fixed in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elymus Elymoides
''Elymus elymoides'' is a species of wild rye known by the common name squirreltail. This grass is native to most of North America west of the Mississippi River and occurs in a number of ecosystems, from the alpine zone to desert sage scrub to valley grassland. Description ''Elymus elymoides'' is a perennial bunch grass growing to around in height. Its erect solid stems have flat or rolled leaf blades. The inflorescence is up to long and somewhat stiff and erect, with spikelets one or two centimeters long not counting the awn, which may be 9 centimeters long and sticks straight out at maturity, making the inflorescence look like a bottlebrush (see main image), and aiding wind dispersal of the seeds. In contrast, the early-season spike is compact and reddish, as in the images at left. This grass is considered very good forage for sheep. It is best for grazing during the winter, when it is small and green. It becomes less palatable to livestock when its awns grow long and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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