10 Grasses in Northern America
A brief guide that looks at 10 Grasses in Northern America.
beardless wild rye
Leymus triticoides, with the common names creeping wild rye and beardless wild rye, is a species of wild rye. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California and Texas.
Beardless wildrye is considered palatable to all livestock.
Tall Fescue
Festuca arundinacea (syn., Lolium arundinaceum Darbyshire; Schedonorus phoenix (Scop.) Holub) 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 the best forage grass for late fall/winter grazing and when used this way can effectively reduce livestock wintering cost. ...more ↓
red fescue
Festuca rubra is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue or creeping red fescue. This plant is a California native.
Palatable Browse Animal Medium
Palatable Graze Animal Low
seaside brome
Bromus maritimus is a species of brome (or chess) grass known by the common names maritime brome and seaside brome. It is native to Oregon as well
Bromus provides considerable forage for grazing animals, with some species being cultivated for this purpose. The introduced species, all but three of which are annuals, range from sporadic introductions to ...more ↓
idaho fescue
Festuca idahoensis is a species of grass known by the common names Idaho fescue and blue bunchgrass. It is native to western North America, where it is widespread and common.
Palatable Browse Animal Medium
Palatable Graze Animal Medium
blue wild rye
A perennial grass that occurs throughout western North America from Alaska to Ontario southward to New Mexico, northern Arizona, California, and Mexico. Blue wildrye is rare in the Great Plains and eastward.
Native to Canada, lower 48 states, and Alaska.
Palatable Browse Animal Low
Palatable Graze Animal Medium
june grass
Koeleria macrantha is a species of grass known by the common name prairie Junegrass. In the UK it is known as crested hair-grass. It is native to much of North America, from Alaska to California, from northern Mexico to the Eastern United States. It occurs in a large number of habitat types, especially prairie.
Palatable Browse Animal Medium
Palatable ...more ↓
Meadow barley
Hordeum brachyantherum, known by the common name Meadow barley, is a species of barley. It is native to western North America from Alaska to northern Mexico, coastal areas of eastern-most Russia (Kamchatka), and a small area of coastal Newfoundland.
Palatable Browse Animal Low
Palatable Graze Animal Low
wall barley
Hordeum murinum, commonly known as wall barley or false barley, is a species of grass. It is native to Eurasia, where it is a common weed in areas of human disturbance.
The livestock seem accustomed to the grass as a forage crop and it constitutes a large part of the pasture during the winter. Dairy cows produce a good quantity of milk when pastured on this ...more ↓
dwarf barley
Hordeum depressum is a species of barley known by the common names low barley and dwarf barley. It is an annual herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America.
Another species of Barley, Hordeum vulgare, is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family. Barley is the ...more ↓
