''Nassella leucotricha'' 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 names Texas wintergrass, Texas needlegrass, and Texas tussockgrass. It is native to the south-central United States (

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

) and much of Mexico (from

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

and

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

south to

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

).''Nassella leucotricha''.
Grass Manual Treatment.

Description

''Nassella leucotricha'' is a perennial

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 ...

with stems up to tall. There are two types of flowers, opening flowers and

cleistogamous Cleistogamy is a type of automatic self-pollination of certain plants that can propagate by using non-opening, self-pollinating flowers. Especially well known in peanuts, peas, and pansies, this behavior is most widespread in the grass family. How ...

(non-opening) flowers that self-pollinate and are sometimes tucked away in the leaf sheaths. The fruit has a sharp tip and a twisted awn up to 9 centimeters (3.6 inches) long.''Nassella leucotricha''.
United States Department of Agriculture NRCS Plant Fact Sheet. This fruit can damage the mouths of livestock and can get caught in wool and eyes. The grass provides a good forage for animals when it is green, but the animals should be removed from the area as the seeds develop on the plants and replaced when the seeds fall to the ground. This grass is known as a weed outside its native region. In Australia it is an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

that is injurious to livestock.''Nassella leucotricha''.
Government of South Australia.Atlas of Living Australia, ''Nassella leucotricha'' (Trin. & Rupr.) R.W.Pohl, Texas Needle-grass
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References

External links

photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Chiapas in 1975United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile — ''Nassella leucotricha'' (Texas wintergrass)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6967599 leucotricha Bunchgrasses of North America Grasses of Mexico Grasses of the United States Native grasses of the Great Plains region Plants described in 1842