|
Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
|
|
Introductory
SPECIES: Bothriochloa barbinodis | Cane Bluestem
ABBREVIATION :
BOTBAR
SYNONYMS :
Andropogon barbinodis Lag. Gen. & Sp.
Andropogon saccharoides var. barbinodis Hackel in A. & C. DC.
SCS PLANT CODE :
BOBA3
COMMON NAMES :
cane bluestem
cane beardgrass
feather bluestem
plains beardgrass
pinhole bluestem
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for cane bluestem is Bothriochloa
barbinodis (Lag.) Herter. Two varieties are currently recognized [13]:
Bothriochloa barbinodis var. barbinodis - cane bluestem
Bothriochloa barbinodis var. perforata (Trin. ex Fourn.) Gould
- pinhole bluestem
LIFE FORM :
Graminoid
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
Ronald Uchytil/November 1988
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Uchytil, Ronald J. 1988. Bothriochloa barbinodis. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Bothriochloa barbinodis | Cane Bluestem
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Cane bluestem is restricted to the southwestern United States and
Mexico. Its range extends from southern California, across southern
Nevada to southern Colorado, south through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico,
and Arizona into Mexico [6,25].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES40 Desert grasslands
STATES :
AZ CA NV NM OK TX UT MEXICO
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
AMIS BIBE CABR CACH CACA CHIR
CORO FOBO GLCA GRCA GUMO JOTR
LAME LAMR ORPI SAGU SAMO WUPA
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
7 Lower Basin and Range
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K031 Oak - juniper woodlands
K053 Grama - galleta steppe
K057 Galleta - threeawn shrubsteppe
K058 Grama - tobosa shrubsteppe
K060 Mesquite savanna
SAF COVER TYPES :
239 Pinyon - juniper
241 Western live oak
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Cane bluestem is most commonly found in semidesert grasslands, oak
woodlands, chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and shortgrass plains,
where it usually occurs as scattered plants or in small groups [19,27].
It is a common grass in many Arizona chaparral communities [6]. In oak
(Quercus emoryi) woodlands of Arizona, it is often an understory
codominant with side oats-grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), hairy grama
(Bouteloua hirsuta), threeawn (Aristida spp.), and plains lovegrass
(Eragrostis intermedia). Cane bluestem has not been listed as a climax
indicator in published classification schemes.
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Bothriochloa barbinodis | Cane Bluestem
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Cane bluestem is both palatable and productive [19,20,28], and consumed
by all classes of livestock. Cattle and horses utilize this grass more
than sheep do, and it may be an important local food source for
pronghorn [3,17,19,25]. The cane bluestem selection, PMT-333, which
originates from Texas, has yielded up to 6,513 pounds per acre (7,300
kgs/ha) when irrigated [20].
PALATABILITY :
Cane bluestem is most palatable to livestock during the spring and
summer, before the stems become fully mature and fibrous [3,14,17].
Later in the season as plants mature, the leaves are consumed by cattle
and horses but are considered too coarse for sheep [16,19]. Throughout
its range, cane bluestem's palatability is generally considered to be
good for cattle, horses, and pronghorn; and fair for sheep [3,16,28].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Cane bluestem has fair forage value. Nutritional analysis shows that
protein, ash, and phosphorus levels all drop when the plant is mature.
Seasonal trends in the nutritional composition of cane bluestem in the
Edwards Plateau region of Texas are presented below [18]:
% Composition
date protein ash cell wall Phos DOM
old and new growth 4/13 8 11 68 .12 33
leaves 5/24 9 10 65 .14 55
leaves and stems 6/28 9 9 66 .15 57
leaves and stems 8/30 6 8 68 .08 47
leaves and stems 10/3 6 5 74 .07 40
leaves and stems 10/25 5 7 70 .08 52
leaves and stems 12/27 3 9 71 .03 48
These results are consistent with Koshi and others [20], who reported
that phosphorus and protein levels were inversely related to the age of
plants at time of harvest. They observed that stands clipped three
times per season yielded 5,443 pounds per acre (6,100 kg/ha) of forage
containing 8.3 percent protein and 0.16 percent phosphorus; stands
clipped twice produced 6,602 pounds per acre (7,400 kg/acre) of forage
containing 7.0 percent protein and 0.17 percent phosphorus; and stands
clipped once produced 6,959 pounds per acre (7,800 kg/ha) of forage
containing 4.4 percent protein and 0.12 percent phosphorus. In this
study protein levels were also found to be inversely related to the
amount of water applied.
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Cane bluestem is recommended for reseeding arid southwestern rangelands.
Seed, however, is available in very limited quantities. No cultivars
have been released, and for reseeding purposes, seed may need to be
collected from native stands. Cane bluestem is best suited for planting
on silty or clayey soils in areas with 12 to 20 inches mean annual
precipitation [24]. Cane bluestem averages 750,000 pure seeds per pound
(1,653,000/kg). Recommended seeding rates are 17.2 pure seeds/square
foot at 1 pound per acre (185 pure seeds/sq m at 1.12 kg/ha) [24].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Cane bluestem is an indicator of range in good condition. This
decreaser is one of the first grasses to disappear from ranges that are
overgrazed [4,5,19]. Although cane bluestem is listed as a decreaser by
numerous authors, Bernardon and others [2] observed under greenhouse
conditions that clipping up to 60 percent of herbage at any stage during
the first year of seedling development was not detrimental to subsequent
root and herbage production.
Cane bluestem is recommended for reseeding arid southwestern rangelands,
but seed is available in very limited quantities. No cultivars have
been released, and for reseeding, seed may need to be collected from
native stands. Cane bluestem is best suited for planting in areas
receiving 12 to 20 inches mean annual precipitation, on silty or clayey
soils [24]. There are approximately 750,000 pure seeds per pound
(1,653,000/kg). Recommended seeding rates are 17.2 pure seeds/square
foot at one pound per acre (185 pure seeds/square meter at 1.12 kg/ha)
[24].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Bothriochloa barbinodis | Cane Bluestem
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Cane bluestem is an extremely drought-resistant, native, warm-season,
robust perennial bunchgrass, of medium height, with straw-colored pithy
stems [16,19,25]. Culms are erect to spreading, 2 to 5 feet (0.6-1.5 m)
tall and densly tufted [27]. Leaves are blue-green and cure to a dull
red or yellow; they occur basally and on the flower stalks [7,25]. The
inflorescence consists of a panicle, 2 to 5 inches (4.5-13 cm) long,
with the appearance of a fan-shaped silvery-hairy cluster [25,27].
Pairs of spikelets occur at each joint. One is sessile and seed
producing, with a bent awn about 0.75 inch (1.9 cm) long; the other is
infertile with a 0.1- to 0.15-inch-long (3-4 mm) pedicel [7].
The presence (var. perforata) or absence (var. barbinodis) of a
glandular pit on the first outer glume of the sessile spikelet is a
consistent botanical characteristic used to distinguish the two
varieties [14].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Hemicryptophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Cane bluestem produces an abundance of seed that is dispersed by wind
[28]. The seeds apparently germinate readily, and the seedling are
hardy [28]. Locally, during drought conditions, cane bluestem may be
one of the only grasses producing seed.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Cane bluestem occurs primarily in dry, sandy, gravelly or rocky sites
[17,27]. It is best adapted to sandy-loam to calcerious-loam soils,
with a pH range of 7.2 to 8.0 [8]. It is most common in semidesert
grasslands, oak woodlands, and chaparral [19]. In open rangelands, it
occurs primarily in areas of high water concentration or in areas that
are occasionally flooded, which allows it to grow where annual
precipitation is only 5 to 7 inches [16,19,25]. Cane bluestem usually
occurs scattered; it seldom forms dense or pure stands [19,25].
Elevational ranges for cane bluestem in several western states are
presented below [8,11,16,27]:
from 1,000 to 5,800 feet (305-1,768 m) in AZ
5,000 to 5,600 feet (1,524-1,707 m) in CO
3,000 to 7,000 feet (914-2,134 m) in NM
3,020 to 6,000 feet (920-1,830 m) in UT
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Growth of cane bluestem seems to be dependent upon available moisture.
Most growth occurs between mid-June and late August when moisture is
adequate. In Texas, irrigated plants produced 25 percent of seasonal
growth by mid-June, 62 percent between mid-June and mid-July, and 13
percent after mid-July. Plants grown under natural rainfall, with water
available later in the season, grew more later in the season. These
plants produced 20 percent, 30 percent, and 50 percent of their seasonal
growth during the same time periods [20]. Plants usually flower between
May and October in Texas, but flowering will occur throughout the year
under favorable growing conditions [14].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Bothriochloa barbinodis | Cane Bluestem
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Information concerning the effects of fire on cane bluestem is lacking.
This plant is a large, robust, coarse, perinnial bunchgrass with leaves
occurring basally and along the stalk [19]. Wright and Bailey [29] and
Young [30] report that large bunchgrasses with densely clustered stems
are more susceptible to fire than small bunchgrasses with coarse stems
because fire can burn down into the clump for sometimes 2 to 3 hours
after the fire has passed. Small bunchgrasses with smaller amounts of
leafy materials are consumed by a fire quickly, with little heat
transferred downward into the clump. General botanical descriptions
seem to place cane bluestem somewhere intermediate between these two
types.
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Tussock graminoid
Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Bothriochloa barbinodis | Cane Bluestem
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
NO-ENTRY
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
NO-ENTRY
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Bothriochloa barbinodis | Cane Bluestem
REFERENCES :
1. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
2. Bernardon, Abel E.; Huss, Donald L.; McCully, Wayne G. 1967. Effects of
herbage removal on seedling development in cane bluestem. Journal of
Range Management. 20: 69-72. [4768]
3. Buechner, Helmut K. 1950. Life history, ecology, and range use of the
pronghorn antelope in Trans-Pecos Texas. American Midland Naturalist.
43(2): 257-354. [4084]
4. Canfield, R. H. 1948. Perennial grass composition as an indicator of
condition of Southwestern mixed grass ranges. Ecology. 29: 190-204.
[5308]
5. Canfield, R. H. 1957. Reproduction and life span of some perennial
grasses of southern Arizona. Journal of Range Management. 10(5):
199-203. [3938]
6. Carmichael, R. S.; Knipe, O. D.; Pase, C. P.; Brady, W. W. 1978. Arizona
chaparral: plant associations and ecology. Res. Pap. RM-202. Fort
Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky
Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 16 p. [3038]
7. Cronquist, Arthur; Holmgren, Arthur H.; Holmgren, Noel H.; [and others].
1977. Intermountain flora: Vascular plants of the Intermountain West,
U.S.A. Vol. 6. The Monocotyledons. New York: Columbia University Press.
584 p. [719]
8. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information
network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]
9. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
10. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
11. Gay, Charles W., Jr.; Dwyer, Don D. 1965. New Mexico range plants.
Circular 374. Las Cruces, NM: New Mexico State University, Cooperative
Extension Service. 85 p. [4039]
12. Gould, F. W. 1967. The grass genus Andropogon in the United States.
Brittonia. 19: 70-76. [5526]
13. Gould, Frank W. 1975. The grasses of Texas. College Station, TX: Texas
A&M University Press. 650 p. [5668]
14. Gould, Frank W. 1978. Common Texas grasses. College Station, TX: Texas
A&M University Press. 267 p. [5035]
15. Gould, Frank W.; Shaw, Robert B. 1983. Grass systematics. 2d ed. College
Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. 397 p. [5667]
16. Humphrey, Robert R. 1960. Arizona range grasses: Description--forage
value--management. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona, Agricultural
Experiment Station. 104 p. [5004]
17. Humphrey, Robert R. 1970. Arizona range grasses: Their description,
forage value and management. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona
Press. 159 p. [5567]
18. Huston, J. E.; Rector, B. S.; Merrill, L. B.; Engdahl, B. S. 1981.
Nutritional value of range plants in the Edwards Plateau region of
Texas. Report B-1375. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University System,
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. 16 p. [4565]
19. Judd, B. Ira. 1962. Principal forage plants of southwestern ranges. Stn.
Pap. No. 69. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 93 p.
[1302]
20. Koshi, P. T.; Eck, H. V.; Stubbendieck, J.; McCully, W. G. 1977. Cane
bluestem: forage yield, forage quality, and water-use efficiency.
Journal of Range Management. 30(3): 190-193. [5544]
21. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession
following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall
Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council
fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No.
14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496]
22. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
23. Stickney, Peter F. 1980. Data base for post-fire succession, first 6 to
9 years, in Montana larch-fir forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-62. Ogden,
UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest
and Range Experiment Station. 133 p. [6583]
24. Thornburg, Ashley A. 1982. Plant materials for use on surface-mined
lands. SCS-TP-157. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil
Conservation Service. 88 p. [3769]
25. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1937. Range plant
handbook. Washington, DC. 532 p. [2387]
26. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
27. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry
C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo,
UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p. [2944]
28. Weaver, J. E.; Albertson, F. W. 1956. Grasslands of the Great Plains.
Lincoln, NE: Johnsen Publishing Company. 395 p. [2463]
29. Wright, Henry A.; Bailey, Arthur W. 1982. Fire ecology: United States
and southern Canada. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 501 p. [2620]
30. Young, Richard P. 1983. Fire as a vegetation management tool in
rangelands of the Intermountain Region. In: Monsen, Stephen B.; Shaw,
Nancy, compilers. Managing Intermountain rangelands--improvement of
range and wildlife habitats: Proceedings; 1981 September 15-17; Twin
Falls, ID; 1982 June 22-24; Elko, NV. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-157. Ogden,
UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest
and Range Experiment Station: 18-31. [2681]
31. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
Index
Related categories for Species: Bothriochloa barbinodis
| Cane Bluestem
|
 |
