''Poa fendleriana'' 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 muttongrass. It is native to western North America, where its distribution extends from western Canada to northern Mexico.''Poa fendleriana''.
Grass Manual Treatment.Howard, Janet L. 1997

In: Fire Effects Information System, nline U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.

Description

This species is a perennial grass with small

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s. The stems grow up to 70 centimeters tall. The dead sheath bases remain on the plant for a long time. The narrow

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 ...

has up to 8 erect branches crowded with spikelets. One inflorescence may have over 100 spikelets. The plant is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, with male and female flowers on separate plants. Some populations lack male plants, while others are able to reproduce sexually. Asexual reproduction is more common than sexual, and most populations are all female. These produce seed without fertilization by

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

. The sexually reproducing populations are usually found in warmer climates with summer precipitation, while the all-female populations can tolerate colder climates and a wider range of

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

Distribution

This is a common grass in western North America. It grows in many types of habitat, including sagebrush, oak woodlands, pinyon-juniper woodlands, desert grassland, and coniferous forest. The grass often grows in dry areas, but it can occur in moist habitat, such as riversides. It can grow on many soil types. It occurs mainly on open sites or in partial shade; it does not tolerate the full shade of a closed canopy. It is a dominant plant species in several types of habitat.

Uses

Forage

This grass is a "good to excellent forage for livestock" and wild animals, feeding cattle, horses, sheep, elk, deer, and pronghorn.''Poa fendleriana''.
USDA NRCS Plant Guide.

Erosion

The fibrous root system helps to control

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

of the soil. It is tolerant of drought and grazing.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Poa fendleriana'' (muttongrass)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7206136 fendleriana Grasses of the United States Grasses of Canada Grasses of Mexico Flora of North America Dioecious plants