Grasses

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Picture	Common name	Scientific name	Height	Flowering Period	Light Requirement	Moisture Requirement	Description
	Bluebunch wheatgrass	Pseudoroegneria spicata	1.5-4’	June			Long-lived, cool season bunchgrass with extensive root system. Leaves green to blue color. Seed spikes, 3 to 8 inches long. Provides cover for nesting upland birds. Good soil stabilizer.
	Thurber’s needle grass	Achnatherum thurberianum	12-24”	May-June			Perennial bunchgrass with purplish inflorescences, 3 to 4 inches long. Effective in reducing wind and water erosion on sandy or loamy soils.
	Idaho fescue	Festuca idahoensis	1-3’	May-July			Cool-season, perennial bunchgrass with fine, narrow leaves, blue to green in color.
	Needle and thread grass	Hesperostipa comata	1-4’	June			Cool-season, perennial bunchgrass with interesting 4 to 5-inch twisted awn that stems from the inflorescence.
	Basin wildrye	Leymus cinereus	3-6’	Early to mid-summer			Large, robust, cool season, perennial bunchgrass that is long-lived. Diameter 2 to 4 feet wide. Provides good cover for birds and wildlife. Good soil stabilizer.
	Bottlebrush squirreltail	Elymus elymoides	4-25”	May - August			Cool-season, perennial bunchgrass. Inflorescence 1 ti 7 inches long. Easily established in open or disturbed sites. Competitive with weedy grasses such as cheatgrass.
	Prairie junegrass	Koeleria macrantha	6-24”	April - June			Perennial, cool season, tufted bunchgrass. Several seed heads arise from basal cluster of narrow leaves. Green to purplish inflorescence.
	Sandberg bluegrass	Poa secunda	8-16”	June			Cool-season, short-lived, perennial bunchgrass with smooth deep blue green leaves, 8 to 16-inches long. Grows in either small tufts or large tussocks. Early spring growth provides cover for nesting upland game birds.
	Indian ricegrass	Achnatherum hymenoides	8-30”	May-July			Bunchgrass with numerous leaves and attractive seed heads. Prefers sandy soils. Reproduces by seed. Forage for birds. Good stabilizer for soils susceptible to wind erosion.
	Tufted hairgrass	Deschampsia cespitosa	8-48”	June-August			Perennial, cool season, tufted bunchgrass. Inflorescence 4 to 12-iches long. Good for reclaiming disturbed soils at high elevation.