Branching Broomrape Orobanche ramosa

Branching Broomrape Orobanche ramosa. A leafless, parasitic plant whose stems tap into the roots of other plants, like Tobacco, Potatoes, or Mint, which sends up branching clumps of dark colored stems which bear light lavender tube flowers with a white mark on the lip.  Under the ground the plant forms a bulb like nodule around the roots of some plant, then sends up a short, stout stalk that branches at the surface.  Not able to produce chlorophyll, Broomrape has no leaves, parasitizing other plants. Locally uncommon, this pest can form colonies which are not noticed, since they are very short, and get quickly overgrown after they bloom.  In Europe this species is harvested and prepared like asparagus. SWk, Not in Book, 3/25/19 – 5/4/19; 3/28/20 – 5/?/20;

Branching Broomrape habit; a leafless parasitic plant producing clumps of light blue tube flowers.

Note; Broomrape does not produce any leaves, tapping into the roots of other plants

Note; branching clumps of leafless stalks, each bearing slightly arched, blue flowers with a white spot on the lip and into the throat.

Texas Blue Grass

Texas Blue Grass; Poa arachnifera.; comprising the largest family of grasses, the Bluegrasses are characterized by slender stems, thick mats of rhizomes, and narrow, slightly folded leaves.  Kentucky Blue Grass is actually a European introduction brought over to feed horses, but over 50 species of Poa are indigenous to the USA.  As the name arachnifera (spider like) implies, Texas Blue Grass grows outward from a dense center of roots, rhizomes reaching out in every direction.  But when crowded, the stems and leaves grow upright, forming dense stands of soft green leaves and thin, jointed flower stalks.  Tiny white flowers are widely spaced along thin spikes, the miniscule seeds hidden deep within tough bracts.  Native to prairies, Blue Grass occurs mingled in with other vegetation, as long as taller plants are kept mowed back.  Buffalo, then cattle, originally kept prairies mowed down, but where there are no large grazers, or periodic fires, shorter grasses like Blue Grass get shaded out.

Blue Grass habit; a relatively low growing grass that radiates out from a dense, central root clump, sending up flower stems ending in a loose spike of tiny, white flowers.

Note; medium height, jointed stalks amidst slightly folded, blunt tipped grass blades interspersed with other prairie vegetation.

Buffalo Grass

Buffalo Grass; Buchloe dactyloides; growing by tough stolons which take root at every node, and by seeds that are born at ground level, Buffalo Grass can form thick, dense mats of smooth grass where the surrounding vegetation is kept cut down.  Locally it only grows 4-6″ tall, the short, narrow blades curling under when the weather is dry, it is able to withstand prolonged drought, even though it only has fine, fibrous, wiry roots.  Root mats of Buffalo Grass were so dense sod houses were once made from prairie turf.  It endures fire, intense grazing, and drought, but cannot stay inundated for long.  It turns a dun or tan color with the first killing frost, so some do not find it appealing for lawns, but it is hardy, rarely needs mowed, and forms a smooth, even mat if given full sun and watered occasionally.  Male flowers are born on short, filamentous shafts, all the tiny white flowers pointing the same direction, making the dense spikes look feathered, or lopsided.  Female flowers are carried at nearly ground level in sparse, but dense clusters, protecting the burr like seeds from being burnt or eaten by grazers like cattle or Buffalo.  Buffalo Grass is common on mowed surfaces that are not watered heavily, and abundant on the paths across open land, where the taller vegetation is mowed down, but it does not spread quickly, making propagation slow if mowed land is not seeded.

Buffalo Grass habit; a low growing, spreading grass of open areas that forms dense mats of closely spaced clumps sprouting from tough rhizomes or stolons, and bears short spikes of tiny white flowers

Note; all the male flowers, carried above the leaf blades point the same direction, the seed forming female flowers budding at ground level

Note; Buffalo Grass can form wide, dense mats of short, hardy turf where taller vegetation is kept cut back

Bunch Grass

Bunch Grass; thick clumps of jointed stems and long, narrow blades form compact lumps on the prairie, making the surface uneven.  Bunch Grass does not spread by rhizomes, but stays in a tight clump, forming a solid, deep root mass.

 

Big Bluestem Grass

Big Bluestem Grass; Andropogon gerardi, a late season stem grass that sends up long, (around 24″ tall) jointed stems from a dense mat of short rhizomes, this grass seems to grow little until late summer.  Then it sends up many fast growing, jointed flower spikes that divide into four sprigs, each 3-4″ long, lined with tiny flower.  The leaves are narrow and of medium length, growing directly from rhizomes that creep so slowly the grass seems to be a bunch grass.  This grass does not give even coverage, resulting in a rough  surface, and seems dormant most of the summer.  It is the most noticeable grass on the PDU during Fall and early Winter, when it sends up flower spikes.  It is common in lawns and road sides, making it necessary to mow lawns even when other grasses have gone dormant.

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Big Bluestem habit; a bunchgrass growing from wide clumps dense with short rhizomes that sends up tall, jointed flower spikes during Fall and Winter.

Note; the flower spikes, which divide into 4 flower racimes, turn the prairies smoky grey during the Fall blooming season

Note; until it blooms, Bluestem is characterized by medium length blades of grass growing from tightly packed, short rhizomes.

Note; the jointed flower spikes, up to 24″ tall, divide into 4 flower sprigs 3-4″ long

Johnson Grass

Johnson Grass, Sorghum halepense;  a very tall, jointed grass, rising from a thick rhizome, which produces a long, open spike of small seeds that remotely look like rice grains.  The long, broad leaves are often red toward the tips, growing part way up the flower spikes.  The thick, pithy stems are strongly jointed at nodes that may be 10″ apart.  Johnson Grass grows quickly, and the rhizomes easily break off when uprooted, allowing the grass to spread underground.  The rhizomes are edible, but not filling.  Johnson grass is not viable as a commercial food, for although the heads are heavy, the grains are small and tightly wrapped in chaff like bracts, and the leaves are poor in grazing quality.  Most common along partly shaded forest margins, or intermittent drainages.  New heads may be purple, opening to white flowers, which then ripen into small seeds.  Most of the seeds are eaten by birds, especially doves.

Rice Grass habit; fast growing stem grass with long, broad leaves, which produces long flower spikes bearing loose panicles of seeds that look remotely by rice.

Note; the tall, fast growing blades are often tipped in red

Note; long jointed flower spikes produce loose panicles of small white flowers

Sand Bur

Sand Bur; Cenchrus pauciflorus. a creeping grass with a radial pattern, spreading out from a central clump of fibrous roots, notorious for its heads of sharply bristled seeds that stick in bare skin, and even puncture bicycle tires.  The jointed stems can take root wherever a node comes in contact with the ground, but pulling plants up at the central root mass usually eliminates them from any lawn.  Leaves are relatively short and broad, branching abruptly off of the stems that are 1/16″ to 1/8″ in diameter.  The plants seem harmless until mid summer, when they begin putting out flowers.  The short spikes of inconspicuous flowers quickly convert to dense columns of spiny seeds, and then the tears start.  Other than herbicides, the best way to get rid of Sand Burs is to pull them up by the roots, making sure to get all the rhizomes, creating a bur free zone.

Sand Bur habit; a sprawling, or creeping grass radiating out from a central root mass which produces spikes of very sharp, bristly seeds in mid summer.

Note; the darker green, creeping grass radiating out from a central root mass, marked by narrow, short leaves sheathing sprawling stems.

 

Spear Grass

Spear Grass; Heteropogon contortus, (Winter Grass, Needle Grass); this perennial grass grows in widely scattered, small clumps with only a few weakly upright, narrow blades that provides poor grazing.  It is notorious for producing loose seed heads of only a few grains, each with a sharply pointed seed and a long, straight, coarse beard or tail.  Although the grain could be eaten, it is too small, and too widely scattered, and too sparse to justify the effort.  The seeds are easily dislodged, sticking into fabric, animal hair, and even piercing the skin.  Webbed shoes are especially vulnerable to the seeds, whose barbed tip works its way through the fabric or fur, into the skin.  However, the blades are often green during the winter, offering a flush of green while other prairie plants are dead or hibernating.

Spear Grass habit; a sparse, widely scattered perennial grass that produces loose heads of seeds with a sharp tip and a long, coarse “beard” hair.

Note; the open seed head with only a few grains, and narrow, sparse leaf blades

 

Western Wheat Grass

Western Wheat Grass; Agropyron smithii, a perennial grass with deep roots that builds sod, while also producing a wheat like head with small, edible grains.  Modern wheat is an annual that dies every year, the plump heads held up on stiff hollow stems that allow them to be harvested mechanically.  Wheat grass produces a head somewhat like wheat, but the stems are more fragile, and the grain shatters off the head easily when struck by rain-drops, tossed by the wind, or bumped by the paddles of harvesters, the better for propagating the plant.  Wheat grass grows back from the roots every year, and sends roots down as deep as 15 feet, helping it endure drought, and helping hold the soil together, resisting erosion.  Natural propagation scatters the seeds widely, giving it a measure of protection against crop pests like aphids and rust, which cannot travel far.  The grass makes good grazing, but once it begins to flower, much of the nutrients value goes into the grain, the straw being left with reduced nutritional value.  Wheat grass is currently being bred with wheat in hopes of producing a perennial, drought tolerant food crop.

Western Wheatgrass habit; a perennial, deep rooted grass that grows in a tight clump, producing a compact head of grain that looks like wheat.

Note; flower heads produce a head of grains, each protected by a bract and a “beard hair” that keeps birds from eating the seeds.

Note; the heads, when dry, look like wheat, except that the grains easily “shatter”, releasing the seeds when hit by rain or buffeted by wind

 

Yucca, Torrey Yucca

Torrey Yucca Yucca torreyi.  Rising from a fibrous corm, which divides both under the ground and above, this member of the Amaryllis family first forms a flattened, untidy rosette of narrow, fibrous, lance-like leaves, up to 12” long.  The pithy flower stem can grow very tall, branching to form a complex spray, unlike Y pallida, which remains as an unbranched spike, bearing flowers 2-4” across that, unusual for yucca, open fully and face outward, rather than drooping.  Each flower has 6 identical, elliptical petals arranged around a fleshy pistol, and 6 narrow stamen with a conspicuous, outward crook.  The narrow pods are more bean like than the peanut shaped pods of Y pallida.  Y torreyi is more common in drier parts of West Texas, but a few are attested in the ILC area.  Amerinds once used the fibrous leaves for cordage, after scraping the thin layer of pulp off, ate the corms and young flower stalks, and used to saponin laced corm to create a sudsing soap to bathe, or wash their hair in.  (55)  5/10/15-5/25/15; 5/1/18-5/20/18; 5/5/19; 5/1/20 – 5/15/20;

Torrey Yucca habit; growing from a thick, fibrous corm, from which sprout multiple trunk like stems, this yucca forms an untidy rosette of narrow, fibrous, lance like leaves which produce a thin, branching flower panicle bearing large, cream flowers that open fully

Note; Torrey’s Yucca is more slender and taller than Pale Yucca, and the fibrous leaves less tidy looking

Note; the large, cream flowers open fully, the 6 petals broader than the sepals, all surrounding a fleshy pistol and 6 slender stamen

Note; Torrey’s flowers are more slender, more upright, and open wider than Pale Yucca flowers