''Hesperostipa spartea'', formerly ''Stipa spartea'', is a species of grass 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 to Ontario in Canada and through the central and Great 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 the genus ''

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 of North America. It is also found in grasslands of the Rocky Mountains in Western Canada and the Western United States. This grass is common and is a dominant grass in various prairie and grassland ecosystems in the

. In Alberta it is codominant with rough fescue on the grasslands. In other areas it may be codominant with little bluestem. It may be a pioneer species or a climax species, 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 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. 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. ''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 seeds 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 for native plant gardens and natural landscaping, and as a plant for Great Plains—Prairie habitat restoration.

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 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