Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

NEEDLE-AND-THREAD

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Hesperostipa comata (Trin. & Rupr.) Barkworth subsp. comata

[=Stipa comata Trin. & Rupr.]

Cheyenne County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 1-4 feet

Family: Poaceae - Grass Family

Flowering Period: June, July

Culms:

Erect, sparingly branched, hollow, glabrous or pubescent at nodes.

Blades:

Flat or rolled inward, narrow, 2 to 16 inches long, less than 1/3 inch wide, conspicuously ridged, glabrous or rough.

Sheaths:

Usually longer than internodes, open, glabrous or rough, conspicuously veined.

Ligules:

Membranous, tips pointed, notched at top.

Inflorescences:

Narrow panicles, contracted or open, 4 to 20 inches long, bases usually enclosed in uppermost sheaths; branches slender, ascending.

Spikelets:

Borne near tips of branches, 1-flowered, drooping at flowering; glumes .5 to 1.5 inch long, 3-5-nerved, tapered to slender tips; lemmas to 1/2 inch long, pale to brownish, lightly pubescent, stiff-hairy at bases; awns 4 to 8 inches long, bases with tiny crown of hairs, tightly coiled below, loosely coiled or zigzag near ends.

Habitat:

Dry prairies and pastures, on well-drained sandy or rocky soils.

Distribution:

West 1/5 of Kansas.

Forage Value:

Needle-and-thread has fair to good forage value for livestock prior to fruiting.

Uses:

The Blackfoot noted the appearance of this grass to determine the best time to hunt bison.

Comments:

Densely tufted. The awns can cause injuries to eyes and tongues and can contaminate wool.

Needle-and-thread