Porcupinegrass

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Porcupinegrass anthers

Porcupinegrass ligule

Porcupinegrass

Porcupinegrass

Porcupinegrass awns

Porcupinegrass habit

Porcupinegrass

Porcupinegrass inflorescence

Morphology

Culm

Erect to ascending, simple, nearly glabrous.

Blades

Basal and cauline; blades 6 to 20 (34) inches long, .12 to .2 inch wide, involute at maturity, upper surface ridged and usually pubescent, lower surface not conspicuously ridged, glabrous to minutely pubescent.

Sheath

Mostly overlapping, terete, usually glabrous, margins ciliate.

Ligule

Membranous, firm, .14 to .28 inch, acute or truncate or rounded, usually entire.

Inflorescence

Panicle, not enclosed in sheath, narrow, nodding, mostly 4 to 12 inches long; branches few, slender, erect, bearing 1 or 2 spikelets near tip.

Spikelets

Narrow, 1-flowered, 1.2 to 1.8 inches long; glumes narrow, nearly equal, 1 to 1.8 inch long, keeled, 7-9-veined, attenuate to aristate; lemmas brown, narrow, rigid, nearly cylindric, .7 to 1 inch long excluding awn, unevenly pubescent; callus attached to base of floret, hard, .12 to .24 inch, sharp-pointed, densely pubescent, terminating in awn 4 to 8 inches long; awn spirally twisted, twice bent; palea enclosed by lemmas, prominent.

Ecology

Habitat

Prairies, open rocky hillsides

Distribution

East 1/2 of Kansas

Practical Information

Forage Value

Porcupinegrass is a good early season forage grass for cattle and horses, but the mature awns and sharp-pointed calluses can cause mouth, eye, and ear injuries.

Additional Notes

Synonyms

Alternative scientific names that have been used for this plant.