ILLINOIS PLANT INFORMATION NETWORK ILPIN INFORMATION ON Bouteloua curtipendula CLASS: MONOCOTYLEDENAE ORDER: CYPERALES FAMILY: POACEAE SCIENTIFIC NAME: Bouteloua curtipendula AUTHORITY: (Michx.) Torr. COMMON NAMES: MESQUITE GRASS SIDEOATS GRAMMA TALL GRAMMA SYNONOMY: None PLANTS CODE: BOCU NATURAL COMMUNITIES: FOREST UPLAND FOREST DRY PRAIRIE TYPICAL PRAIRIE DRY GRAVEL PRAIRIE DRY DOLOMITE PRAIRIE DRY HILL PRAIRIE LOESS GLACIAL DRIFT GRAVEL SAND LISTED DOMINANT SAVANNA BARREN DRY PRIMARY GLADE LIMESTONE BLUFF LISTED DOMINANT CULTURAL DEVELOPED LAND SAF FOREST COVER TYPE: CENTRAL Upland oak White/Black/Northern Red- Oak NATURAL DIVISION: Wisconsin Driftless listed Rock River Hill Country Freeport Oregon listed Northeastern Morainal Morainal Winnebago listed Grand Prairie Grand Prairie Springfield Western Kankakee Sand Area listed Western Forest Prairie Galesburg Middle Mississippi Border Glaciated Driftless listed Southern Till Plain Mt. Vernon Hill Country listed Ozark Northern Southern listed Shawnee Hills Lesser Shawnee Hills listed listed COUNTIES: ADAMS BOONE CALHOUN CARROLL CASS CHAMPAIGN COLES COOK DEKALB DUPAGE FULTON GREENE GRUNDY HANCOCK HARDIN HENDERSON HENRY IROQUOIS JACKSON JERSEY JO DAVIESS JOHNSON KANE KANKAKEE KENDALL LASALLE LEE MCDONOUGH MCHENRY MACOUPIN MADISON MARSHALL MASON MENARD MONROE MORGAN OGLE PEORIA PERRY PIKE POPE PUTNAM RANDOLPH ST. CLAIR SCOTT STEPHENSON TAZEWELL UNION VERMILION WHITESIDE WILL WINNEBAGO WOODFORD GROWTH FORM: Monocot TAXONOMY COMMENTS: Specimens with the fertile lemma 3-awned are most common in Illinois. Some authors have described these as var. aristosa. TAXONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS: ROOTS: Adventitious (rhizomes) LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate LEAF TYPE: Simple LEAF MARGIN: Entire LEAF VENATION: Parallel LEAF SHAPE: Linear INFLORESCENCE: Raceme Spike FLOWER MEROUS: 3 FLOWER STRUCTURE: Complete Incomplete FLOWER PLACEMENT: Hypogynous FRUIT: Grain DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTIC COMMENTS: Inflorescence a spike-like raceme. Spikelets drooping, falling entire. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION: ORIGIN: Native POPULATION DYNAMICS: STATE STATUS: Not listed FEDERAL STATUS: Not listed COMMONNESS: Occasional ENDEMIC: NOT-ENDEMIC POPULATION STATUS COMMENTS: Common on bluffs along the Mississippi River from Jo Davies to Union county. Occasional in northern Illinois. BIOLOGIC: HABIT: Grasslike LIFE CYCLE: Perennial REPRODUCTION: Sexual Vegetative FLOWERING PERIOD: MONTH BEGINNING- 7 MONTH END- 9 TROPHIC STATUS: Autotrophic C02 FIXATION: C4 SEX: Perfect ECODISTRIBUTION COMMENTS: Grassy knolls, railroads. 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 No data entered EXTREMELY ACID No data entered SALINE SOIL No data entered SODIC SOIL No data entered SODIC-SALINE No data entered ROCKY OUTCROPS Good GENTLE SLOPES Good MODERATE SLOPE Good STEEP SLOPES Good HABITAT: Dry FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS: MAJOR POLLINATION AGENT: Wind HUMAN RELATIONSHIP DATA: ALLERGENIC: Yes WILDLIFE AND LIVESTOCK INFORMATION: FOOD VALUE: DEER VALUE: Yes - Fruit Flowers Leaves Stems Buds UPLAND GAME VALUE: Yes - Fruit WATERFOWL VALUE: Unknown SMALL NON-GAME BIRD VALUE: Yes - Fruit SMALL MAMMAL VALUE: Yes -Entire plant Fruit Flowers Leaves Stems Buds Roots AQUATIC MAMMAL VALUE: Unknown FISH VALUE: Unknown COVER VALUE: No data entered WILDLIFE COMMENTS: Plants used by terrestrial furbearers, especially rabbits. LIVESTOCK PALATABILITY DATA: CATTLE FORAGE: Good SHEEP FORAGE: Good HORSE FORAGE: Good GOAT FORAGE: Good ENERGY VALUE: Medium PROTEIN VALUE: Medium POISONOUS (LIVESTOCK): No LIVESTOCK COMMENTS: Considered highly nutritious and eaten by all livestock. REVEGETATION PLANTINGS: WEEDINESS: Non-weedy SEED AVAILABILITY: Good PROCUREMENT COMMENTS: 2,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,58,60. PROPAGATION COMMENTS: Grown from seeds at 23-33 lbs./acre broadcast or 15-33 lbs./acre drilled. 191,000 seeds/lb. Seedlings can be transplanted after germination and growth in seedling trays. REFERENCES: Steyermark, J. A. 1963. Flora of Missouri. Iowa State University Press, Ames. 1725 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. Fernald, M. L., A. C. Kinsey, and R. C. Rollins. 1958. Edible wild plants of eastern North America. Harper and Brothers, New York. 452 pp. Wodehouse, R. P. 1971. Hayfever plants. Hafner Publishing Company, New York. 280 pp. END OF DATA FOR SPECIES Bouteloua curtipendula ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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