Graminoids of Chiricahua National Monument

Bulbostylis capillaris is a species of sedge known by the common names densetuft hairsedge and threadleaf beakseed. It is native to much of North and Central America, where it grows in many types of habitat, generally in moist areas such as streamside meadows. It is an annual herb which is somewhat variable in appearance but generally takes the form of a small, upright tuft of green herbage growing close to the ground. There are several stems... less ↑

Cyperus esculentus (or chufa sedge, nut grass, yellow nutsedge, tigernut sedge, or earth almond) is a crop of the family sedge native to warm temperate to subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It can be found wild, as a weed or as a crop. It has been cultivated since the fourth millennium BC in Egypt, and for several centuries in Southern Europe. Nowadays it is often cultivated for its edible tubers (tigernuts), mainly in Spain for... less ↑

Cyperus squarrosus is a species of sedge known by several common names, including bearded flatsedge and awned flatsedge. It is found in wet environments nearly worldwide. It is a small sedge, reaching a maximum height between 10 and 16 centimeters. There are one to three short, thin leaves around the base of the plant. The inflorescence is a single spherical or bunched spike of up to 30 spikelets. Each spikelet is flat and has excurved awns,... less ↑

Eleocharis palustris (common spike-rush, creeping spike-rush or marsh spike-rush) is a species of mat-forming perennial plants in the genus Eleocharis (and subgenus Eleocharis) growing in wetlands throughout the Boreal Kingdom. E. palustris is not easily distinguished from other closely related species and is extremely variable worldwide itself. less ↑

Eleocharis parvula is a species of spikesedge known by the common names dwarf spikerush, small spikerush and hairgrass in aquaria. It has a circumboreal distribution, growing throughout Eurasia and North America, into Central America. It is a plant of brackish and saltwater habitat, such as marshes and mudflats. It is a perennial herb growing tufts of spongy, compressible stems not more than 10 centimeters tall. The plant grows from a tuber which is J-shaped or horseshoe-shaped,... less ↑

Schoenoplectus americanus (syn. Scirpus americanus) is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names chairmaker's bulrush and Olney's three-square bulrush. It is native to the Americas, where it is known from Alaska to Nova Scotia and all the way into southern South America; it is most common along the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States and in parts of the western states. It grows in many types of... less ↑

Juncus longistylis is a species of rush known by the common name longstyle rush. It is native to much of North America, including most of the United States and the southern Canadian provinces. It grows in moist terrestrial habitat, such as mountain meadows. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb forming clumps of slender stems up to about 60 centimeters tall. The inflorescence is made up of one to nine clusters of a few tiny flowers each.... less ↑

Agrostis scabra is a common species of grass known by the common names hair grass,rough bent grass,winter bent grass, and ticklegrass. A tumbleweed, It is a bunchgrass native to Asia and much of North America, and widely known elsewhere as an introduced species. It occurs in most of the United States except parts of the Southeast and most of Canada except for the farthest northern regions. It can be found in Mexico and California, and across... less ↑

Aristida divaricata is a species of grass known by the common name poverty threeawn. It is native to the Americas from the central United States to Guatemala. It is a perennial grass forming clumps of unbranched stems up to 70 centimeters tall. Leaves are mostly basal and roll along the edges. The sparse inflorescence is a wide, flat, open array of spikelets that break apart easily. The grain has a twisted tip and three awns up... less ↑

Bouteloua eriopoda, commonly known as Black Grama, is a perennial prairie grass that is native to the Southwestern United States. Its main means of reproduction is by stolons, as its ratio of viable seeds to sterile ones is naturally low. The disparity may play a role in its lack of tolerance to overgrazing (relative to other grasses), but aside from this B. eriopoda is a good forage food for livestock. less ↑

Blue grama grass, Bouteloua gracilis, is a long-lived, warm-season, C4 perennial grass, native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta, Canada, east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and U.S. Midwest states to Mexico. Blue grama accounts for most of the net primary productivity in the shortgrass prairie of the central and southern Great Plains. It is a green or greyish, low-growing, drought-tolerant grass with limited maintenance. less ↑

Cenchrus spinifex, known commonly as the common sandbur or coastal sandbur, is a perennial grass that grows from 5 to 30 inches high in sandy or gravelly terrain. It is found throughout the southern United States southward into Mexico and the Caribbean, and also grows in the Philippines and South Africa. The grass produces a bur, a type of grain fruit, consisting of 8 to 40 sharp, barbed spines that lodge in clothes, exposed feet, and fur. less ↑

Chloris virgata is a species of grass known by the common names feather fingergrass and feather windmillgrass. It is native to many of the warmer temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions of the world, including parts of Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas, and it is present in many other areas as a naturalized species, including Hawaii, Australia, and the Canary Islands. less ↑

Cynodon dactylon, also known as dūrvā grass, Dhoob, Bermuda grass, bermudagrass, dubo, dog's tooth grass, Bahama grass, devil's grass, couch grass, Indian doab, arugampul, grama, and scutch grass, is a grass native to north and east Africa, Asia, Australia and southern Europe. Although it is not native to Bermuda, it is an abundant invasive species there. It is presumed to have arrived in North America from Bermuda, resulting in its common name. less ↑

Digitaria sanguinalis is a species of grass known by the common name hairy crabgrass or large crabgrass. It is one of the better-known species of crabgrass, and one that is known nearly worldwide as a common weed. It is an annual grass with an inflorescence of up to nine very long, very thin, radiating branches atop its stems. Each branch is lined with pairs of very tiny spikelets. The inflorescences may be reddish or purplish. less ↑

Echinochloa crus-galli is a type of wild grass originating from tropical Asia that was formerly classified as a type of panicum grass. It is commonly known as cockspur (or cockspur grass), barnyard millet, Japanese millet, water grass, common barnyard grass, or simply "barnyard grass" (which may refer to any species of Echinochloa or the genus as a whole however). This plant can grow to 60" (1.5 m) in height and has long, flat leaves which are... less ↑

Heteropogon contortus is a tropical, perennial tussock grass with a native distribution encompassing Southern Africa, southern Asia, Northern Australia and Oceania. The species has also become a naturalised weed in tropical and subtropical regions in the Americas and East Asia. The plant grows to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in height and is favoured in most environments by frequent burning. The plants develop characteristic dark seeds with a single long awn at one end and a sharp spike... less ↑

Festuca arundinacea (syn., Schedonorus arundinaceus and Lolium arundinaceum) is a species of grass commonly known as tall fescue. It is a cool-season perennial C3 species of bunchgrass native to Europe. It is an important forage grass throughout Europe, and many cultivars have been used in agriculture. It is also an ornamental grass in gardens, and a phytoremediation plant. less ↑