Scientific name Pleuraphis jamesii | Genus Pleuraphis Rank Species | |
 | ||
Similar Hilaria, Oryzopsis hymenoides, Atriplex confertifolia, Bouteloua eriopoda, Pleuraphis mutica | ||
Hilaria jamesii (formerly Pleuraphis jamesii) is a species of grass known by the common name James' galleta.
Contents
Range and Habitat
It is native to the southwestern United States, where it is widespread in scrub, woodland, grassland, and plateau habitat. It is tolerant of arid environments such as desert floors. It is common in the northern Mojave Desert.
Growth pattern
It is a rhizomatous perennial grass producing bunches of erect stems approximately one millimeter wide and up to about 60 centimeters in maximum height. The woody rhizome is shallow, spreading just under the soil surface, but it may reach 6 feet in length and when dense helps the grass form a sod. Its stems are not fuzzy like those of its relative, Hilaria rigida.
Flowers
The inflorescence is a series of hairy, rectangular spikelets.
Fruit
The grass produces relatively little viable seed and spreads mostly via its rhizome.
