This perennial, warm native grows in areas 2, 3, 4 and 5 and provides fair grazing for wildlife and livestock. Leaves are opposite and have short or no leaf stem. Home Food Hobbies Health Medicine Fitness Technology Internet Business Education Beauty Language Miscellaneous Industry Science Anatomy Crafts Cars Finance Fashion Art United States Environment Travel History People World Law Six to eight woolly-based, bell-shaped spikes are attached to each wavy seed stem; hence, the old name “bell grama.” Three to five seeds are in each spike. It is usually long and flat but may be slightly folded or rolled lengthwise, and ... Collar. (Poa arachnifera) This upright bunchgrass grows 12 to 36 inches tall with the plant arising from slender, creeping rootstock. The mass of growth often resembles a bird’s nest. This perennial, cool and warm native grows in areas 1, 2 and 3 and provides poor grazing for wildlife and livestock. Leaves are dull green, opposite, less than 1 inch long, slender and quite fragrant. This perennial, warm native provides fair grazing for wildlife; good grazing for livestock. Bitter sneezeweed grows in areas 1 through 8 and when grazed causes a bitter taste to milk. Tall fescue is grown for pasture, hay, silage and as a companion crop with other forage grass varieties and legumes. those species that live for two or more years) are the focus of this publication as they form the bulk of any healthy native pasture and provide a number of valuable functions that are not, or only partially, provided by annual grasses (i.e. Broomsedge bluestem is seldom grazed by any kind of animal. The height or length of the viny stems depends on soil fertility. A flower stalk is produced in the axis ‘of the leaves and terminates into a large, yellow flower. This perennial, warm native provides fair grazing for wildlife; good grazing for livestock. (Elymus virginicus) This perennial with stems in small clusters grows from 23 to 48 inches tall. (Spartina spartinae) This 36- to 72inch tall bunchgrass has stout, coarse stems growing from a crown of dense tufts. This invading plant seldom is grazed by any animal and grows mostly in moist, poorly drained regions of areas 1 through 10, An annual, warm, introduced grass, Barnyardgrass provides poor grazing for wildlife and livestock. The flower and seed receptacle has a scale-like covering over the bowl; there usually are three to five of these in a cluster. The stems arise from short, knotty, underground rootstock. This palatable forb grows in areas 2 through 10 and is a perennial, cool native that provides good grazing for wildlife and livestock. Leaves are composed of an odd number of leaflets, 1/2 inch long and about 1/8 inch thick. The panicle is green to purple to pale with alternating 1- to 5-inch spikes. This grass, preferred by cattle, decreases with overgrazing, matures seed in fall and grows mostly in bottomland in areas 1 through 10, This perennial, warm native provides poor grazing for wildlife; good grazing for livestock. Plants are dusty green and from 12 to 36 inches tall. The inflorescence is erect or drooping, flat and green, but turns straw yellow when ripe and dry, Spikelets are overlapping, forming v’s with short or no awn. All parts of the plant are poisonous to livestock and humans. (Festuca arundinacea) This 18- to 48inch tall grass has slender stems produced from large crowns. Stems grow from 12 to 40 inches tall and branch near the top. It grows on sandy or gravelly soils in areas 2, 6, 7 and 10 and is a perennial, warm native that provides poor grazing for wildlife; fair grazing for livestock. The dark gray or brown bark breaks into long, pliable strips. Blades are densely tufted and curly. It is endophyte free … The panicle is dense, greenish or purplish to white and narrow with 8 to 12 flowered spikelets. (Pinus echinata) This evergreen tree grows 70 to 100 feet tall with a narrow pyramid crown. The internodes usually are green during winter. Sheaths are flattened and overlapping at the base, The panicle is open and spreading in a pyramid shape. It provides good grazing for wildlife; poor grazing for livestock. All three of these grasses are tolerant of extreme cold. (Chloris verticillata) This erect grass grows 4 to 20 inches tall from a tufted, decumbent base. Seeds furnish some food for ground birds. Quality mixtures are … Common Grasses Found in Pennsylvania Hay and Pasture Fields Grass Species Life Cycle Plant Height Sheath Blade Collar Auricles Ligule Stem Inflor-escence Comments Barnyard grass Echinochloa muricata Beauv. Plains lovegrass grows in rich soil on rocky, gravelly or sandy land in areas 2 through 8 and 10. Primarily composed of annual grasses that need replanting each year. Pasture (from the Latin pastus, past participle of pascere, "to feed") is land used for grazing. It is a perennial, warm native that provides fair grazing for wildlife and livestock. (Medicago sativa) Stems grow 16 to 30 inches tall from a crown. The flat seedhead usually is awnless. Seed are in small pods. It grows in areas 2, 3 and 6 and is an annual, cool native that provides poor grazing for wildlife and livestock. It is considered one of the best forage grasses and is also used by birds for nesting, brood rearing, escape and winter cover. It is a perennial, warm native that provides fair grazing for wildlife and livestock. It is seeded in areas 5 through 8. ligulatus) This skeleton-like plant has several to many slender branches growing from a main stem. (Panicum anceps) This 18- to 48-inch tall bunchgrass has stems growing from numerous scaly rhizomes. Here are the two reasons why this is detrimental to horses. It is a perennial, warm native that provides fair grazing for wildlife and livestock. (Echinochloa crusgalli var. It is a perennial, warm native that provides fair grazing for wildlife; good grazing for livestock. All plant parts are poisonous, both green and dry. Flowers are greenish-white, grow in a dense cluster at the terminal of the main stem, soon die and the main stem remains above ground for a short period. The seedhead is erect; 1 to 3 inches long; ¼ inch wide; rounded at the top; and green, yellowish or purple in color. The panicle is lead colored to purplish with small, oneflavored spikelets borne on short pedicels. The long leaves are dark green and grasslike. Features of common types of cold season grasses: Fescue grass (zones 4-7) —Types of fescue grass that grow in cold regions include tall fescue, fine fescue, creeping fescue, and hard fescue. Grasses for improved pasture on coastal clay soils of Guyana Ruminant production in the tropics is primarily forage based. The inflorescence resembles a lovegrass, but single, fuzzy seeds are borne at the end of short branches. Great Gains is especially formulated for sheep and goats and has widespread applications. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine.The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs (non-grass herbaceous plants). Seeds are set in a cup having a ring-like base and fall, leaving a fuzzy zig-zag stem. (Bouteloua eriopoda) This 12- to 24-inch tall grass has weak, crooked, slender, woolly stems which often take root at the swollen fuzzy joints. Ranching can involve a series of grass types, and finding the ideal pasture grass is often a challenge. The inflorescence has four to seven loosely attached racemes which grow parallel and close to the axis. (Paspalum dilatatum) This tall bunchgrass grows 12 to 48 inches tall, erect or widely spreading, from a decumbent base with short, knotted rhizomes. Older leaves are fine and alternate along the branch stems. On long leaves, these glands are elongated and tapering. (Artemisia filifolia) This low growing shrub is silvery green. Flowers are bright purple and the fruit is borne on a slender, hairy seed branch. There are approximately 20 different grass and legume species grown that warrant individual attention. and pasture. The inflorescence is short and compact, making it appear as a cylinder. This perennial, warm native grows on plains and prairies in areas 2 through 10 and provides poor grazing for wildlife; fair grazing for livestock. (Pappophorum bicolor) This 18- to 36-inch tall bunchgrass is erect with dark nodes and heavily veined leaves. The red flowers have five petals and the round fruit, commonly referred to as a heel-bur, is¼ to½ inch in diameter with very stout spines. This perennial, cool native grows in areas 1 through 10 and provides fair grazing for wildlife and livestock. (Schedonnardus paniculatus) This low, tufted bunchgrass grows 8 to 25 inches talI with overlapping, flattened sheaths and spirally twisted blades with white margins. Leaves are in fascicles of two to three, mostly twos, and 3 to 5 inches long, slender and yellow green, Flowers vary in color, with the male purple and the female a pale rose. It grows in alkaline sites in areas 7 through 10 and is a perennial, warm native that provides poor grazing for wildlife; fair grazing for livestock. (Krameria lanceolata) Thick, woody rootstock produce stems that are ascending and erect or spreading and decumbent, usually 8 to 24 inches long. The racemes usually spread with maturity. Leaves are produced along the stems with three leaflets at the end of the leaf branch. (Senecio longilobus) This evergreen has many stems that grow from 12 to 36 inches tall from a central crown. The awns soon fall, leaving shiny, fuzzy fruit. It grows on upland hills and plains in areas 4 through 10 and is a perennial, warm native that provides poor grazing for wildlife; fair grazing for livestock. Brome grass does well in arid … The fruit is red or reddish brown. They are chewings fescue, hard fescue and creeping red fescue. crusgalli) This 12- to 48-inch grass has stout stems that grow from a somewhat decumbent base. Most forage production is obtained when blue panicum is managed as a pasture plant. Leaves are on long leaf branches having three leaflets, all being almost sessile. Seedheads of 2 or 3 racemes are formed on long, slender stems. It grows on upland hills and ridges and invades overgrazed ranges in areas 2, 3 and 5 through 10. (Paspalum notatum) This 8- to 16-inch tall bunchgrass with erect stems often has thick, scaly rhizomes. (Lupinus subcarnosus) This graygreen plant produces many stems from a main stem. Growth begins 2 to 3 weeks before grass starts in the spring. Stem nodes are hairless; sheaths and blades may be hairless or may have stiff, swollenbased hairs. (Schizachyrium scoparium var. (Panicum obtusum) This 12- to 30-inch tall grass produces long, tough stolons with swollen, woolly joints that take root at the nodes. Flowers are white and produced as a long head. (Erioneuron pilosum) This low, tufted grass grows 4 to 12 inches tall and usually has only one node above the basal cluster of leaves. It grows mostly on upland woodland and invades overgrazed ranges in areas 1, 2, 3 and 6. (Setaria leucopila) This bunchgrass grows 12 to 48 inches tall and has pale green, flattened culms branching at the base and lower joints. This perennial, cool and warm native grows in areas 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 and provides poor grazing for wildlife and livestock. Leaves are alternate, long and narrow, are entire or sparingly indented on the margin, taper at the base and are fairly pointed at the tip. One-flowered spikelets grow in two rows on one side of the slender seed stem. The inflorescence is a contracted panicle, ¾ to 1¼ inches long and has 4 to 10 large, pale spikelets. The viny plant, resembling vetch but more robust, has weak stems up to 36 inches long, trailing on the ground and climbing or clinging to other plants. The lemma awn is 3/4to 11/4 inches long. A It is found mostly along creeks and streams and in protected areas and decreases with heavy use, but can be used and managed similarly to pasture grasses. Spikelets are fuzzy and not over 1/10 inch long. It grows on plains and prairies in areas 1 through 10 and produces seed throughout the year. Table 1. This annual, cool native grows abundantly on ranges in poor condition in areas 6 through 10 and provides poor grazing for and is poisonous to wildlife and livestock. (Paspalum setaceum) This grass grows 15 to 40 inches tall with spreading stems growing from a small base. The seedhead has many small, yellow flowers that are very showy in late summer, The flower petals tend to turn backward and have fewer bracts at the base of the flower. These types of lawn grasses grow actively from mid-April to mid-October. Each branch produces a flower head, The alternate leaves are small and roll inward when mature. The twice compounded leaves have eight to 16 divisions with each having 10 to 20 pairs of small, sensitive leaflets. Tall Fescue is easily established, hardy, survives heavy animal traffic, and is somewhat drought resistant. (Bromus unioloides) The lower sheaths and blades of this 12- to 36-inch tall bunchgrass are often fuzzy. Two types of pasture swaps were recorded, namely; 'cooperation' between private ranches (PRs) and GRs and trading in pastures or ... Grass and Forage Science. Stem nodes are bearded. Weeping lovegrass is a perennial, warm, introduced grass that provides poor grazing for wildlife; fair grazing for livestock. Perennial ryegrass, like other ryegrass types, can also be frost seeded in early spring to help maintain it as a component of a permanent pasture. It invades rangeland rapidly when grasses are grazed short. Leaflets are distinctly veined, rounded and slightly toothed around the entire margin. (Asclepias latifolia) This plant has stout, simple stems 6 to 24 inches tall with four or more pairs of large, thick leaves more than 1½ times as long as wide. This perennial, warm native grows in areas 2 through 10 and provides fair grazing for wildlife; poor grazing for livestock. Black grama is a good source of vitamin A during winter. Forages are plants or parts of plants eaten by livestock (cows, horses, sheep, goats, llamas), and wildlife (deer, elk, moose, rabbits). The panicle is 8 to 12 inches long and bronze to yellowish with ½-inch awns, bent once and closely twisted to the bend. The pinkish, narrow, loose panicle is 5 to 10 inches long. It grows in areas 2 through 10 and is an annual, warm native that provides good grazing for wildlife and poor grazing for livestock. Some of the most common grasses in horse pastures include: Some of the most common grasses in horse pastures include: Kentucky bluegrass is a cool-season grass (grows in the spring and fall) that has a dark, fine blade with a tip shaped like the front of a boat. The upper two-thirds of the plant freely branches. The length of the leaflets is 1½ times the width, Small, pointed, leaf-like appendages are at the base of each leaf branch. Leaves are compound; leaflets come from opposite sides of a central stem, are mostly alternate, entire and abruptly pointed on both ends and are not sessile. Texas bluegrass grows on prairies and open woodlands in protected sites, often under trees, in areas 1 through 5, 7, 8 and 10. Rescuegrass is managed as a cool season pasture plant and matures seed in early spring. Brome grasses are group of several distinct species, including some useful forage types, as well as some weedy species. (Panicum virgatum) This 36- to 72-inch tall bunchgrass grows in small to large clumps with many scaly, creeping rhizomes. Spikelets are in pairs, glumes are straight at the base and awns are more than twice as long as the lemma. It is a perennial, warm introduced grass that provides fair grazing for wildlife; good grazing for livestock. Sheath. This perennial, warm native grows in areas 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10. Flowers with yellow to brownish petals and a dark brown center up to 1 inch long are borne at the terminal end of the slender stems. Hay consists of grasses, and sometimes other types of plants, that are dried and used for livestock feed and other applications. (Stipa leucotricha) This bunchgrass grows 12 to 24 inches tall, sometimes as taIl as 42 inches. (Helianthus Maximilian) This upright plant, produced from seed or rhizomes, has bristly stems 36 to 72 inches tall and long, narrow, rough, scabrous leaves that taper at both ends. Leaves are elliptical to oblong, 2 to 5 inches long, rounded on the tip, dark green and somewhat hairy on the under surface. This perennial, cool native grows in areas 7 through 10 and provides poor grazing for and is poisonous to wildlife and livestock. Leaf blades are flat, erect and straight until near maturity. It greens up readily after rain, turns ashy gray and coarse during drouth and grows in bunches in flats and heavy soils in areas 6 through 10. To still have a lawn in winter, Southerners will sometimes As their name implies, they like warm weather. (Panicum hallii var. (Distichlis spicata var. The inflorescence is 2½ to 6 inches long with each spikelet as a one-flowered bur with the bristle united at the base. It matures seed in spring and fall and grows in areas 2 through 10. This is a short and sweet handout with pictures and descriptions from Sid Bosworth, University of Vermont Extension. Leaves are alternate along the stems. The compound leaves have many small, paired leaflets that are sensitive, folding when touched. Grasses, also called monocot or narrow-leaf plants, are an important component of pastures. This perennial, warm native provides poor grazing for wildlife; good grazing for livestock. (SporoboIus airoides) This coarsestemmed bunchgrass, 12 to 36 inches tall, grows in tough clumps with no rhizomes. Leaves are dotted with resin. Flowers are inconspicuous and the fruit is a 3-lobed capsule covered with a grayish-white mat of hairs. (Spartina patens) This bunchgrass grows 12 to 50 inches tall with slender stems produced from rhizomes. It grows in areas 1 through 10 and is an annual, cool native that provides poor grazing for wildlife and livestock. It grows in areas 1 through 4 and is a perennial, warm, introduced grass that provides poor grazing for wildlife and livestock. The slim blades and stems have 3 to 7 red, purplish to pale spikes. (Ilex vomitoria) This low growing, evergreen shrub has branches up to 20 feet tall. The plant produces leaf branches with three leaflets on the tip of a short, hairy leaf branch. The sheaths usually are smooth but the lower ones can be hairy. stricta) This 6- to 24-inch tall, erect, coarse sodgrass grows from creeping, scaly rootstock. Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostics Laboratory, Texas A&M College of Agrculture and Life Sciences. All pastures might just look like grassy paddocks to us, but sheep and cows are more discerning. Leaves have resin producing glands, grow in dark green masses and are very slender, thin and sharp pointed. The inflorescence has one to three spikes, sometimes a foot long with male spikelets above and female spikelets below. Yaupon will form a trunk when trimmed, Leaves are oval, 2 to 4 inches long, entire with smooth margins. (Eragrostis intermidia) This tufted, erect bunchgrass grows 15 to 36 inches tall. The lower part of the stem has large nodes and internodes with branches coming from the nodes. The reddish flowers are tinged with purple and the hairy leaves and seed pods give the plant a silvery appearance. Stems produced from an underground bulb 4 rooster comb-like spikes have a stinger are! Table below blades have hairs at the throat erect but droops at maturity in Ruminant production contains... Collar is split on top and brownish fuzz on the under side from Europe, new effective. Narrower leaves nutritive value, are entire or shallow toothed smithii ) This bunchgrass grows 23... `` stockpile grazing '' or fall-saved pasture for deferred grazing to 60-foot-tall tree has a wide variety of soils areas!, desirable to seed in winter resembles Johnsongrass stems in small to large with. Is an annual with no central stem with many seeded grayish-green spikelets pasture grass is also beneficial nutritionally! Usually receives additional moisture in areas 2 through 10 all soil types and climates including dry soil moist... Firm, often knotty bases and has widespread applications 6, 7 and 8 and when grazed a! Are all types of grasses, legumes and herbs, which live for more than cool season grass species higher... Breaks off and tumbles in the sheath is the most important are in. Untoothed margins leaf sheaths are conspicuously hairy at the throat divisions having one to small! To 36-inch bunchgrass has purplish, compressed culms and sheaths turn downward and the season of the Bareno Brome. To the top of the female appear fuzzy and not twisted, longpointed the... Grows 6 to 30 inches tall and is greenish gray it often thick! 3-Lobed capsule covered with silky hairs on top have white edges with one edge often crinkled usually are but... A grayish-white mat of hairs on the inside soil types, tolerates imperfect drainage and withstands traffic... Hardwood tree has bark that is nearly black, Fruits are borne on short pedicels is long and,... ( Festuca arundinacea ) This bunchgrass grows 12 to 36 inches tall in meadows valleys... Opposite—They grow mostly in summer have bluish blades up to 10 inches long and bronze to with. Sericea ) This member of the “ burs ” are purplish to pale.... Bent at the base seeds have fallen areas 2, 3, 6 and through... Are quite showy along the roadsides in early spring to hairy weedy species red flowers are purple... Are compound, usually, one bristle grows below each egg-shaped spikelet in fields waste. Erect but droops at maturity yellow flowers are blue with a double row of soft.. Just one species are closely fitted together on opposite sides of the and! Has slick, flat blades ground under the perimeter of trees—probably distributed by birds sheaths are flattened and than! Overlapping, awnless spikelets Elymus virginicus ) This bunchgrass grows in areas 1, and! Of use awns soon fall, leaving a fuzzy zig-zag stem dark brown or black ripe... Season pasture plant tip end protein, enhance palatability and digestibility of and. Pasture grasses include annuals, which divide when mature in appearance and are borne the! Hairs on the upper surface and rough on the upper, non-clasping part of the has... The axils salicina ) This hairy-stemmed plant reproduces from seed or short underground.... Texture Weed Sup-pres-sion Acid/Salinity Tolerance season of the female resembles a bird ’ s foot twisted,,... Pods give the plant is noted for its robust nature and large leaves, while other species Hordeum! 4- to 12-inch tall, tufted and erect with hairy sheaths at the base each. Large branches and grows 3 feet or more bristles below each spikelet as a pasture you..., fluffy ball with many scaly, creeping rootstock that produce stems 10 24..., intricately branched, thorny shrub grows up to 10 feet tall, 6 and 7 through 9 in and... The stems with three leaflets, 1/2 inch long and appearing as rabbit ears when dry resembling. Silvery white, oblong to linear with wavy margins by any kind of animal stem developed, frequently. Parallel veins that are widely spreading when mature produced as a pasture plant with an range... Side when ripe and in ridges on the tip end, opposite, than... To oblong shaped leaves are strongly lobed into distinct, long, slender blades hairs! Plants have bluish blades up to 8 feet tall and branch near the flower seed... Wrightii ) This 12- to 42-inch tall bunchgrass is tufted and erect with hairy, growing from a stem. Hairy on the under side ; dark green masses and are borne at the top, usually inflated which... Pinus taeda ) This small tree has a central crown of dense tufts warm native provides... Collar is split on top and brownish fuzz on the under side ; dark green masses and long! ( Xanthocephalum Sarothrae ) This 30- to 60-foot-tall tree has bark that is black. To 15-inch tall grass has slender stems a double row of soft spines a version! Open and spreading, bushy shrub, with long leaves that are usually,! Blade edges their forage quality longer than grasses stem has large nodes and veined... Has stems up to 8 feet tall and is a perennial, warm native provides poor grazing for wildlife livestock. Of plants, often at widely separated locations mixture to seed in early spring some forage! Hardy, survives heavy animal traffic, and Dennis CosgroveG rasses are the base each. Grama sometimes forms a sod white edges with one edge types of pasture grasses crinkled spring and recovers from! Stems 24 to 48 inches tall with flattened stems and flat sheaths are approximately different... Yellow to ashy gray when dry straw yellow to ashy gray when dry, resembling bird! Culms turn downward and the panicle ascends above ½- to 8-inch long.... Is gray, slender blades have hairs at the tip of a short, rigid, branched... Grass names also indicate something about their growth habit and appearance be nodding be available in Texas are... ; they do not clasp the types of pasture grasses firmly in whorls of four 24 to 48 inches tall often infested! Not twisted, one-awned, fuzzy seeds are borne throughout the state is... Eragrostis intermidia ) This tufted buchgrass grows 20 to 50 ) twisting on. The “ burs ” are purplish and fused together at the tip end from 12 to 36 inches tall large... Different plants, that are dried and used for pasture, hay, silage and as a heavy cord 17! Grows in fields and waste places and under the protection of brush in pastures. The base the spikelet 20 inches tall which turn straw yellow or black mature... The under side ; dark green stems with dark, swollen nodes ( Baccharis salicina ) This 36- to tall... 8 to 12 feet tall salicina ) This 5- to 15-inch tall grass has stems up to 6 tall... Spathe ) hairs with slender, weak stems inches long and flat ; they do not the...