ILLINOIS PLANT INFORMATION NETWORK ILPIN INFORMATION ON Stipa spartea CLASS: MONOCOTYLEDENAE ORDER: CYPERALES FAMILY: POACEAE SCIENTIFIC NAME: Stipa spartea AUTHORITY: Trin. COMMON NAMES: NEEDLE GRASS PORCUPINE GRASS SYNONOMY: None PLANTS CODE: STSP2 NATURAL COMMUNITIES: FOREST UPLAND FOREST DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC SAND FOREST DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC PRAIRIE SAND PRAIRIE DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC GRAVEL PRAIRIE DRY-MESIC DOLOMITE PRAIRIE DRY-MESIC LISTED DOMINANT SAVANNA TYPICAL SAVANNA DRY-MESIC MESIC SAND SAVANNA DRY DRY-MESIC BARREN DRY DRY-MESIC MESIC LISTED DOMINANT CULTURAL AGRICULTURAL FIELD PASTURELAND DEVELOPED LAND RESTORATION PRAIRIE SAF FOREST COVER TYPE: CENTRAL Upland oak Post oak - blackjack oak White/Black/Northern Red- Oak NATURAL DIVISION: Grand Prairie Green River Lowland Kankakee Sand Area listed Miss. and Ill. R. Sand Areas Illinois River Mississippi River listed COUNTIES: BOONE BUREAU CARROLL CASS CHAMPAIGN CHRISTIAN COLES COOK DEKALB DEWITT DUPAGE FAYETTE FORD GREENE GRUNDY HENDERSON HENRY IROQUOIS JO DAVIESS KANE KANKAKEE KENDALL KNOX LAKE LASALLE LEE LIVINGSTON LOGAN MCHENRY MCLEAN MACON MACOUPIN MARSHALL MASON MENARD MERCER MONROE MORGAN OGLE PEORIA PIATT PUTNAM ROCK ISLAND ST. CLAIR SANGAMON SCHUYLER SHELBY STARK STEPHENSON TAZEWELL VERMILION WHITESIDE WILL WINNEBAGO WOODFORD GROWTH FORM: Monocot TAXONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS: ROOTS: Adventitious (fibrous) LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate LEAF TYPE: Simple LEAF MARGIN: Entire LEAF VENATION: Parallel LEAF SHAPE: Linear INFLORESCENCE: Panicle FLOWER MEROUS: 3 FLOWER STRUCTURE: Complete FLOWER PLACEMENT: Hypogynous FRUIT: Grain DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTIC COMMENTS: Largest features of our Illinois Stipa. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION: ORIGIN: Native POPULATION DYNAMICS: STATE STATUS: Not listed FEDERAL STATUS: Not listed COMMONNESS: Occasional ENDEMIC: NOT-ENDEMIC BIOLOGIC: HABIT: Grasslike LIFE CYCLE: Perennial REPRODUCTION: Sexual FLOWERING PERIOD: MONTH BEGINNING- 5 MONTH END- 6 TROPHIC STATUS: Autotrophic C02 FIXATION: C3 SEX: Perfect ECODISTRIBUTION COMMENTS: Roadsides; along railroads; sandy black oak woods ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS: DISTURBANCE INDICATOR: No SOIL CHEMISTRY INDICATOR: None GROWTH OF SPECIES IN VARIOUS CONDITIONS: GRAVEL Good SAND Good SANDY LOAM No data entered LOAM No data entered CLAY LOAM No data entered CLAY No data entered DENSE CLAY No data entered ORGANIC SOIL No data entered NEUTRAL pH No data entered ACIDIC SOIL Good EXTREMELY ACID No data entered SALINE SOIL No data entered SODIC SOIL Good SODIC-SALINE No data entered ROCKY OUTCROPS Good GENTLE SLOPES Good MODERATE SLOPE Good STEEP SLOPES Fair HABITAT: Moist Dry FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS: MAJOR POLLINATION AGENT: Wind HUMAN RELATIONSHIP DATA: SHOWY FLOWERS: NO WILDLIFE AND LIVESTOCK INFORMATION: FOOD VALUE: No data entered COVER VALUE: No data entered LIVESTOCK PALATABILITY DATA: CATTLE FORAGE: No data SHEEP FORAGE: No data HORSE FORAGE: No data GOAT FORAGE: No data ENERGY VALUE: Medium PROTEIN VALUE: Low POISONOUS (LIVESTOCK): -mechanical injury REVEGETATION PLANTINGS: WEEDINESS: Economic SEED AVAILABILITY: Good PROCUREMENT COMMENTS: 2, 5, 6 PROPAGATION COMMENTS: form-seeds GENERAL COMMENTS: Illinois; may not be an economic weed in our area REFERENCES: Steyermark, J. A. 1963. Flora of Missouri. Iowa State University Press, Ames. 1725 pp. Swink, F., and G. S. Wilhelm. 1979. Plants of the Chicago region. Third ed. The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois. 922 pp. Mohlenbrock, R. H. 1967-continuing. The illustrated flora of Illinois. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. Anon. 1981. Illinois plants for habitat restoration. Illinois Department of Conservation, Mining Program. Springfield, Illinois. 61 pp. Schwegman, J. E., G. D. Fell, M. Hutchison, G. Paulson, W. M. Shepherd, and J. White. 1973. Comprehensive plan for the Illinois Nature Preserves System. Part 2 - The Natural Divisions of Illinois. Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, Springfield. 32 pp., plus map. White, J., and M. H. Madany. 1978. Classification of natural communities in Illinois. Pages 309-405 in J. White, ed., Illinois natural areas inventory technical report. Vol. 1. Survey methods and results. Illinois Natural Areas Inventory, Urbana. Agricultural Experiment Station. 1981. Weeds of the North Central States. Bulletin 772. College of Agriculture, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, Urbana. 303 pp. Meeuse, B. J. D. 1961. The story of pollination. Ronald Press Company, New York. 243 pp. OTHER REFERENCES: Muenscher, W.C. 1975. Poisonous Plants of the United States END OF DATA FOR SPECIES Stipa spartea ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ILPIN was developed by Louis Iverson*, with data compiled by David Ketzner and Jeanne Karnes Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 E. Peabody Dr., Champaign, IL 61820 *currently employed by USDA Forest Service, 359 Main Rd., Delaware, OH 43015