Plant Cards: Rio Bravo - Grass
| A native grass, I am adapted to living in dry soil but I also can be found near stream banks. I am a perennial and grow well in hard-packed alkaline soils. My panicle or seedheads are 20 to 60 cm long and the branchlets are densely flowered, producing many seeds for birds and small mammals. I grow in thick clumps and can reach heights of six feet. My leaves are long, sword-shaped and tender to eat when young. As I grow older leaves are tough and less tasty. I provide cover for ground nesting birds and lizards. |  |
| A native grass, I grow well in sandy alkaline (salty) soil of flood plains, swales or salt flats. I am a perennial and spread by vigorously growing underground stems called rhizomes. My long and slender leaves are opposite and sheath or wrap around the stem. The seed head appears condensed with many branches (spikelets) of tightly arranged flowers (florets) that each produce a seed or grain. Small mammals eat these seeds. I grow in clumps and prevent soil from eroding. I produce much plant material that decays and becomes part of the soil. |  |
