''Hesperostipa spartea'', formerly ''Stipa spartea'', is a species of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

known by the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s porcupine grass, western porcupine grass, short-awn porcupine grass, porcupine needlegrass, and big needlegrass. It is native to North America, where it is widespread from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

in Canada and through the central and

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

regions of the United States. It is a

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennial ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Hesperostipa ''Hesperostipa'' is a genus of grasses in the family Poaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as needle-and-thread grass or needlegrass. The ''Hesperostipa'' species, formerly called ''Stipa'', are endemic to North America. The new nam ...

''.USDA - ''Hesperostipa spartea''
. accessed 6.26.2012

Distribution

''Hesperostipa spartea'' is native to the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

and

Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

of North America. It is also found in

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

and the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. This grass is common and is a dominant grass in various

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

and

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s in the

. In

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

it is codominant with rough fescue on the grasslands. In other areas it may be codominant with

little bluestem ''Schizachyrium scoparium'', commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of t ...

. It may be a

pioneer species Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire. Pioneer flora Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, so m ...

or a

climax species Climax species, also called late seral, late-successional, K-selected or equilibrium species, are plant species that can germinate and grow with limited resources; e.g., they need heat exposure or low water availability. They are the species wit ...

, occurring in all stages of

ecological succession Ecological succession is the process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time. The time scale can be decades (for example, after a wildfire) or more or less. Bacteria allows for the cycling of nutrients such as ca ...

. It thrives on poor soils and it can invade disturbed habitat such as gopher mounds. It can also be a long-term component of climax grassland and prairie.

Description

This perennial

is similar to

needle-and-thread grass ''Hesperostipa comata'', commonly known as needle-and-thread grass, is a species of grass native to North America, especially the western third. It has a wide distribution spanning from northern Canada to Mexico. Description ''Hesperostipa comat ...

, but it has longer, wider, paler leaves. It can reach over a metre in height. The roots are known to reach deep into the soil. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

of spikelets. Each fruit has a very long, twisted

awn AWN may stand for: * Awn Access to Justice Network in Gaza Strip, Legal Aid Network operate in Gaza Strip, Palestine * Animation World Network, an online organization for animators * Avant Window Navigator, a dock-like bar that tracks open windows ...

, reaching up to in length.''Hesperostipa spartea''.
Grass Manual Treatment. Retrieved 12-24-2011. As the grass expands or contracts according to the temperature and moisture conditions, the awns twist or untwist to eventually drill the seeds into the soil – a phenomenon known as

geocarpy Geocarpy is "an extremely rare means of plant reproduction", in which plants produce diaspores within the soil. This may occur with subterranean flowers (protogeocarpy), or from aerial flowers, parts of which penetrate the soil after flowering ...

. The awns containing several seeds may tangle together and the mass is blown away from the parent plant on the wind. They also stick to animals, another vector of

seed dispersal In Spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors, ...

. ''Hesperostipa spartea'' has a bunchgrass foliage mass of in diameter NPIN: ''Hesperostipa spartea''
. accessed 6.26.2012. The flower stalks are upright and arching, yellow, in late Spring. The

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s are needle-like with sharp tips and long tails. The tails are composed of two different strands that dry at different rates and twist around each other, causing the sharp head of the seed to be driven into the soil. Just behind the sharp, needle-like tip, is a collar of long thick hairs that face backward, preventing the seeds from working their way back out of the soil. Stipa spartea seeds2

Agricultural implications

This species of grass can have its seeds entangled in sheep's hair while they are feeding, and once entangled it often works its way into the animal's skin. This grass is not ideal for livestock but it is generally palatable, especially in the spring. It is also valuable in the fall when it remains green as other grasses dry out. When the fruit is mature, the long, sharp awns reduce the palatability of the grass.

Cultivation

''Hesperostipa spartea'' is cultivated as an

ornamental grass Ornamental grasses are grasses grown as ornamental plants. Ornamental grasses are popular in many colder hardiness zones for their resilience to cold temperatures and aesthetic value throughout fall and winter seasons. Classifications Along ...

for

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...

gardens and

natural landscaping Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants and adapted species, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden. Benefits Maintenance Natural landsc ...

, and as a plant for Great Plains—Prairie

habitat restoration Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interrupt ...

Uses

Native Americans such as the

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

and

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...

made

brush A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped durin ...

es from this plant by tying the awns together and burning off the sharp seeds at the ends.''Hesperostipa spartea''.
University of Michigan Ethnobotany. Retrieved 12-24-2011.

References

External links

*
USDA Plants Profile for ''Hesperostipa spartea'' (Porcupinegrass)Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network (NPIN) — ''Hesperostipa spartea (Porcupine grass)The Nature Conservancy
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q3134721, from2=Q7617491 Pooideae Bunchgrasses of North America Grasses of Canada Grasses of the United States Native grasses of the Great Plains region Flora of the Canadian Prairies Flora of Western Canada Native grasses of Oklahoma Native grasses of Nebraska Flora of the Rocky Mountains Plants described in 1830 Fiber plants