Participant Info

Species

Sphenopholis obtusata [Aira obtusa] [Aira obtusata] [Airopsis obtusata] etc.

Family

Poaceae

CommonName

prairie wedgescale, prairie wedgegrass

Presence

yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1890

LatestDate

1999

Ecosystem

basin, foothill, montane

Geobotanical

SSanjuans, UBasin, LBasin

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Mineral, Saguache

Passes

WildlifePreserves

Russell Lakes, Sego Springs

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

Comments

NEED IN SITU PHOTOS. In the Watershed, prairie wedgescale has been recorded mainly from wet basin habitats such as Russell Lakes WPA (Saguache Co, 1986) or Sego Springs WPA (Conejos Co, 1991). Two more vouchers document the presence of Sphenopholis obtusata in montane forest, Wagon Wheel Gap (Mineral Co, 1890) and Wason Ranch (Mineral Co, 1935). Total records for the Watershed are just six. The USA distribution, however, covers all states, and Allred et al. (2020) find it "widespread" in New Mexico at low to medium elevations, always associated with water: "streams, springs, canals, and ditches." The species follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico to just beyond the Big Bend region of Texas.

Annotation