Participant Info

Species

Elymus elymoides [Elymus sitanion] [Hordeum elymoides] [Sitanion elymoides] [Sitanion hystrix]

Family

Poaceae

CommonName

squirreltail, bottlebrush

Presence

yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1896

LatestDate

2023

Ecosystem

foothill, montane, subalpine

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, Culebras, NCristos, LBasin

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache, Archuleta

Passes

Cochetopa, Moon, La Manga, Los Pinos, Poncha, Wolf Creek

WildlifePreserves

Baca

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

Comments

NEED IN SITU PHOTOS. Squirreltail has been the most commonly vouchered grass from the Watershed. It grows in all mountain ranges, both east and west, from foothill up to subalpine (the records from the Lower Basin come from the San Luis Hills). Elymus elymoides can grow in poor, sandy soil where other plants are scarce. It is a variable species and hybridizes easily. The USA range is nearly all counties in all Western states, including the western edge of the Great Plains. It follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico to and including the Big Bend country of Texas.

Annotation