Rescue grass

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Rescue grass

Rescue grass

Rescue grass

Rescue grass

Morphology

Culm

Erect to ascending, stout, hollow, glabrous to hairy just below nodes.

Blades

Flat, narrow, 1 to 8 inches long, to 1/4 inch wide, glabrous or sparsely hairy.

Sheath

Closed to near top; lower sheaths spreading-hairy; upper sheaths often glabrous.

Ligule

Membranous, to 1/5 inch long, whitish; auricles absent.

Inflorescence

Panicle, flat, usually contracted, 2 to 10 inches long, greenish, turning straw colored when mature; branches erect or drooping.

Spikelets

Strongly flattened, 4-12-flowered, .8 to 1.4 inches long, 1/6 to 1/2 inch wide, green, sometimes purple tinged, glabrous; glumes narrow, unequal, 1/3 to 1/2 inch long, smooth or slightly rough, awnless or with awn less than 1/12 inch long; first glume 5-9-nerved; second glume 7-11-nerved; lemmas overlapping, sharply keeled, broadly lanceolate, tips pointed, awnless or short-awned.

Ecology

Habitat

Pastures, prairies, fields, roadsides, waste areas, protected bottomlands, and ditches.

Distribution

South 1/2 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Forage Value

Very palatable. Will provide moderately good grazing for cattle but only fair for wildlife. Close grazing will damage the plant.

Uses

Provides seeds for birds and small mammals. The Kiowa recognized rescue grass as an important fodder.

Additional Notes