''Hilaria rigida'' (formerly '' Pleuraphis rigida''Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd. Ed 2013, p. 314) is a species of clumping

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

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 a ...

that is widespread in California deserts.''Hilaria rigida'', CalFlora Database
CalFlora Database: ''Hilaria rigida'' (big galleta)
/ref> It is commonly known as big galleta.Jepson Desert Manual, Hickman, Ornduff, Constance, 2002, p. 592–593''Mojave Desert Wildflowers'', Pam MacKay, 2nd. Ed 2013, p. 285''Introduction to California Desert Wildflowers'', Philip A. Munz, revised 2004, p. 70''Plants of the East Mojave'', Adrienne Knute, revised ed. 2002, p. 55 It is a

monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one Embryo#Plant embryos, embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. Th ...

in the ''

Hilaria The Hilaria (; Latin "the cheerful ones", a term derived from the borrowed adjective grc, ἱλαρός "cheerful, merry") were ancient Roman religious festivals celebrated on the March equinox to honor Cybele. Origins The term seems origi ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of the grass

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

( Poaceae). It can be recognized after seed dispersal by the wiry, wavy inflorescence stalks ( flexuose) that continue to stick out of the clump of leaf blades. The stems are unusual among grasses in that they are solid, even between the nodes, whereas most grasses have hollow stems. The clumps help stabilize sand dunes. According to botanist Philip A. Munz, "it is said to be one of the most valuable forage grasses of the desert". Clumps can live more than 100 years.

Habitat, range, and distribution

Big galleta is found in sand dunes, bajadas, scrublands,

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

s, and deserts. It prefers dry, open, sandy to rocky slopes and flats. It occurs on all soil types, but has poor growth in clay soils. It is tolerant of arid environments such as desert floors, and it is the dominant grass in some desert scrub regions.US Forest Service Fire Ecology
/ref> It is found on plains, in sand dunes, and on rocky hillsides. It grows from

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

to about . In the Mojave Desert, it grows up to . It is common in

creosote bush scrub Creosote bush scrub is a North American desert vegetation type (or biome) of sparsely but evenly spaced desert plants dominated by creosote bush (''Larrea tridentata'') and its associates. Its visual characterization is of widely spaced shrubs tha ...

, joshua tree woodland, and

blackbrush scrub Blackbush scrub,Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, p18, 252 or blackbrush scrub,Canyon Country Wildflowers, Damian Fagan, p 3, 105 is a vegetation type of the Western United States deserts characterized by low growing, dark gray blackbush (''Co ...

plant communities A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant ...

, and areas with sandy soils, such as the Kelso sand dunes. In the eastern

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

, it is more common than its relative, galleta grass ('' Pleuraphis jamesii''). It is a common native to the Mojave Desert and

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...

Sonora, Mexico Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

. It can be found in California, Arizona into northern Mexico, Colorado, Utah, less commonly, but also in other parts of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and rarely in sand dunes in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

's Washington and Kane Counties.

Description

Growth pattern

''Hilaria rigida'' is a long-lived, shrubby or bushy, clumping

grass producing coarse, erect stems reaching in maximum height. It spreads from hard, woody rhizomes to form grayish, hairy, open, erect hummocks and clumps. The clumps can live to more than 100 years old. Its primary means of reproduction is by rhizomes, possibly also by tillering. It has a bush-like appearance because it is highly branched at the base.Big Galleta, Range of Plants of Utah, Utah State University
/ref> Clumping results from spread by tillers or short rhizomes. Clumps of leaves are wide. Seeds fall when mature, but their stalks persist, sticking out from the clumps like zigzagging wires, by which the plant can be identified at a distance. It is drought tolerant and very fast growing after rains. It typically undergoes two major growth periods, one after winter rains, the other after summer monsoons. It is reported to be more effective than many other desert plants at extracting water from the soil during dry periods.

Roots, stems, and leaves

Roots are shallow and radiate outward from the base of the plant. Fuzzy to wooly stems are stiff, heavy, and coarse, from long. The stems are unusual among grasses in that they are solid, even between the nodes, whereas most grasses have hollow stems. They can be either erect or lying on the ground (

decumbent This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

). Stems have

node In general, a node is a localized swelling (a "knot") or a point of intersection (a vertex). Node may refer to: In mathematics * Vertex (graph theory), a vertex in a mathematical graph *Vertex (geometry), a point where two or more curves, lines ...

s that are lined with long, sometimes curly hairs. Leaf blades are coarse and firm, fairly wide, and almost straight, from grayish to blue-green, sometimes with light wooly fuzz, and have curly hairs and edges that are rolled upward. They are from long. Leaves are attached either to the base of the plant or along the upright stems that bear the heads of seeds.

Inflorescence and fruit

The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a series of hairy or brush-like rectangular spikelets, occur in clusters of three, between . The grass produces relatively few viable seeds and spreads mostly by its tillers and sometimes via rhizomes. The inflorescence stalk persists after the seeds drop, sticking out of the clump of leaf blades like stiff, wavy wires. It blooms between December and January according to some sources, from May to June in the Mojave Desert according to others, and from February through June in the Mohave Desert according to others. The variation may result from a paucity of information on germination characteristics (as of 2014). Seedlings rarely become established. The head of seeds is a spike of seeds with much chaff. Spikes are long.

Ecology

The hummocky, clumpy form of the grass helps it stabilize loose and blowing sand when it grows in desert dune habitat. It acts as a nurse plant to seedlings of other species, such as cholla and

barrel cactus Barrel cacti are various members of the two genera ''Echinocactus'' and ''Ferocactus'', endemic to the deserts of Southwestern North America southward to north central Mexico. Some of the largest specimens are found in the Sonoran Desert in So ...

, in turn receiving protection from

herbivory A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

by growing next to the spiny plants. It is not palatable to elk and waterfowl. Associated plant species include ''

Larrea tridentata ''Larrea tridentata'', called creosote bush and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and ''gobernadora'' (Spanish for "governess") in Mexico, due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In S ...

'' (creosote bush), ''

Ambrosia dumosa ''Ambrosia dumosa'', the burro-weed or white bursage, a North American species of plants in the family Asteraceae. It is a common constituent of the creosote-bush scrub community throughout the Mojave desert of California, Nevada, and Utah and ...

'' (white bursage), ''

Coleogyne ramosissima ''Coleogyne ramosissima'' or blackbrush, is a low lying, dark grayish-green, aromatic,Turner, Raymond M. 1982. Great Basin desertscrub. In: Brown, David E., ed. Biotic communities of the American Southwest--United States and Mexico. Desert Plan ...

'' (blackbrush), ''

Yucca brevifolia ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

'' (joshua trees), ''

Yucca ''Yucca'' is a genus of perennial plant, perennial shrubs and trees in the family (biology), family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their Rosette (botany), rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped Leaf, ...

'' species, '' Krameria erecta'' (range ratany), ''

Krascheninnikovia ''Krascheninnikovia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae known as winterfat, so-called because it is a nutritious livestock forage. They are known from Eurasia and western North America. Th ...

'' (winterfat), ''

Encelia farinosa ''Encelia farinosa'' (commonly known as brittlebush, brittlebrush, or incienso), is a common desert shrub of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It has a variety of historical uses. Description Brittlebush grows up to tall, ...

'' (brittle bush), ''

Ephedra Ephedra may refer to: * Ephedra (medicine), a medicinal preparation from the plant ''Ephedra sinica'' * ''Ephedra'' (plant), genus of gymnosperm shrubs See also * Ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is of ...

'' species, ''

Lycium andersonii ''Lycium andersonii'' is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its common names include water-jacket, redberry desert-thorn,Sphaeralcea ''Sphaeralcea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family (Malvaceae). There are about 40-60 species, including annuals, perennials, and shrubs. Most originate in the drier regions of North America, with some known from South America. ...

'' (globemallow).

Uses

Big galleta is heavily grazed and is valuable as a fair to good forage crop for sheep and cattle. Botanist Philip A. Munz commented that "it is said to be one of the most valuable forage grasses of the desert". It resprouts after grazing followed by rains, and coarseness and clumping help protect it from trampling. It is used for erosion control and in revegetation efforts.

References

External links

CalFlora Database: ''Hilaria rigida'' (big galleta)Jepson eFlora–TJM2 — ''Hilaria rigida''Grass Manual Treatment for 'Hilaria rigida''USDA Plants Profile for ''Pleuraphis rigida'' (big galleta)''Hilaria rigida'' — U.C. Photo gallery
{{Clear Chloridoideae Grasses of Mexico Grasses of the United States Native grasses of California Flora of Arizona Flora of Nevada Flora of New Mexico Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora of Sonora Flora of Utah Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Colorado Desert Natural history of the Mojave Desert Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Taxa named by George Bentham Flora without expected TNC conservation status