Sporobolus cryptandrus
Encyclopedia
Sporobolus cryptandrus is a species of grass
known by the common name sand dropseed. It is native to North America, where it is widespread throughout southern Canada, most all of the United States, and northern Mexico.
.
is dense and narrow when new and then spreads out, becoming diffuse, with some branches sticking straight out. The base of the inflorescence is often sheathed within the top leaf, which spreads out beside it. The grass produces very abundant seeds, with an individual inflorescence capable of bearing 10,000 seeds.
(Callipepla squamata) and black-tailed prairie dog
s (Cynomys ludovicianus).
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
known by the common name sand dropseed. It is native to North America, where it is widespread throughout southern Canada, most all of the United States, and northern Mexico.
Habitat
It grows in a wide variety of habitat types, including disturbed areas such as roadsides. It is a common grass in many types of North American prairiePrairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
.
Description
Sporobolus cryptandrus is a perennial bunchgrass forming a tuft of stems growing up to a meter long, erect to decumbent in form. The stem bases are thick but not hard or woody. The leaves are up to 26 centimeters long and rough-haired along the margins. Some stand out from the stems in a perpendicular fashion. The inflorescenceInflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is dense and narrow when new and then spreads out, becoming diffuse, with some branches sticking straight out. The base of the inflorescence is often sheathed within the top leaf, which spreads out beside it. The grass produces very abundant seeds, with an individual inflorescence capable of bearing 10,000 seeds.
Uses
The seeds of this grass provide food for small birds and mammals, including Scaled QuailScaled Quail
The Scaled Quail , also commonly called Blue Quail or cottontop, is a species of the New World quail family. It is a bluish gray bird found in the arid regions of the Southwestern United States to Central Mexico...
(Callipepla squamata) and black-tailed prairie dog
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
The black-tailed prairie dog , is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the USA-Canada border to the USA-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The black-tailed prairie dog can be seen aboveground in...
s (Cynomys ludovicianus).