King Ranch bluestem
Bothriochloa ischaemum var. songarica
Poaceae
Description
Bunchgrass with stems arising from an almost flat crown. The light green stems turn up and branch freely. Stems turn a straw color when mature. Leaves are thicker near the collar and the upper surface is covered with long, silky hairs. The stems are naked at the top. Each stem produces a loose, terminal seed head that is usually purplish. Both the sterile and fertile spikelets have slender, twisted, bent awns, and the branches have fine, silky hairs.
King Ranch bluestem is a perennial, warm-season, introduced – 18 to 48 inches tall.
Fair grazing for both livestock and wildlife.
Habitat
This grass was often seeded on degraded rangelands for soil and water conservation, and is now common along roadsides throughout Texas. Native to southern and central Europe and Asia.
Images
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Stem Texture: Hairless/Smooth
Growth Habit: Bunch grass, Grasses
Season: Warm
Distribution
: 01 - Pineywoods, 02 - Gulf Prairies and Marshes, 03 - Post Oak Savannah, 04 - Blackland Prairies, 05 - Cross Timbers and Prairies, 06 - South Texas Plains, 07 - Edwards Plateau, 08 - Rolling Plains, 09 - High Plains, 10 - Trans-Pecos
Distributions
Distribution refers to the ecological region in Texas that a plant has been found. You can also view a clickable map.
Book: Know Your Grasses (B-182)
Collection: Grasses
