BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Deschampsia elongata | Slender Hairgrass 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Slender hairgrass is a native, perennial bunchgrass.  Culms are slender,
erect, ensely tufted, and usually 12 to 48 inches (30-120 cm) tall
[11,15,25,35].  The leaves have flat or folded blades from 0.04 to 0.06
inch (1-1.5 mm) wide [11,25,35].  The panicle is narrow and from 4 to 12
inches (10-30 cm) tall [11,35].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Slender hairgrass reproduces from seed and tillers.  
  


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Slender hairgrass occurs in a wide variety of habitats including forest
openings, woodlands, grasslands, meadows, marshes, valley floodplains,
and stream and lake margins [11,16,23,24,35].  It is most commonly found
in moist soil in open to shaded habitats [12,14,16,23].  In Oregon,
slender hairgrass occurs from sea level to alpine zones [16].
Elevational ranges of slender hairgrass in several states are as follows
[1,20,24,25,33,35]:

                           feet                    meters

Arizona                 4,000-9,000              1,200-2,700      
California                  0-10,500                 0-3,150        
Montana                 4,900-4,950              1,470-1,485
Nevada                  8,050-8,800              2,455-2,685
Utah                    6,040-10,360             1,830-3,140

Slender hairgrass grows best on fine-textured sandy or gravelly soils
derived from glacial, volcanic, and sedimentary parent materials
[12,16,30].  
  


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Slender hairgrass is a facultative wetland species [27,28,29].
According to Hickman [14], it survives best in full or partial shade.
However, in Montana, slender hairgrass is more prominent in areas that
have been opened and disturbed by logging than in areas with undisturbed
vegetation [6].  In southwestern Oregon, slender hairgrass is an
indicator species in Douglas-fir forests that have been recently
harvested [8].  In the foothills of the western Cascades, Oregon,
slender hairgrass establishes in the early stages of secondary plant
succession after clearcutting [18].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Slender hairgrass flowers from May to August in California [25].  

Related categories for Species: Deschampsia elongata | Slender Hairgrass