• GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM
• REGENERATION PROCESSES
• SITE CHARACTERISTICS
• SUCCESSIONAL STATUS
• SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT

GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Prairie Junegrass is a loosely-tufted, shallow-rooted, native grass of small stature. This cool-season perennial bunchgrass has long, mostly basal leaves [11,43,56,110]. The panicle is narrow and spikelike, except during spring flowering, when open [117].

Quantitative botanical characteristics are extremely variable depending upon sample location. The spikelike panicle can range from 1 to 7 inches (2.5-17.8 cm) in length [117] and is usually two flowered and compressed [54]. During flowering the spikelike branches are open [78]. The long, narrow, flat leaves range from 1.5 to 5 inches (3.8-12.7 cm) long from their basal point of attachment [117]. Prairie Junegrass's leaves are drought resistant and persist under dry conditions [33].

RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM:

Hemicryptophyte

REGENERATION PROCESSES:

Regeneration is accomplished by seed, which ripens late summer to fall [110] and by sprouting from the residual plant [23,120]. Prairie Junegrass seeds are relatively small (4,000 gram^-1 reported by Eddleman [40] and 3,125 gram^-1 reported by Nernberg [83]) and of low viability [78,83,110].

Temperature, soil moisture and seasonality provide cues for germination of prairie Junegrass [40,104,112]. A comparison of germination and emergence of prairie Junegrass at 45 (7°C), 55 (13°C), 64 (18°C) and 80 (27°C) degrees Fahrenheit, showed the greatest % emergence at 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18°C) [104]. Blake [18] observed good germination within silt loam at 1/2 and 1/3 saturation. Prairie Junegrass also possesses the ability to germinate under periods of water stress. Germination responses were observed at water potential between 0 to 12 bars [40].

SITE CHARACTERISTICS:

Prairie Junegrass is fairly cosmopolitan among prairie and grassland habitats of North America. A small percentage of prairie Junegrass cover is found within the majority of upland and high-prairie systems [38,90,122] in scattered stands [117]. Prairie Junegrass is normally found at elevations between 5,000 to 8,000 feet (1524-2438 m) [87]. Preferred sites are cool, semi-arid (xeric) [8,10,26], infertile grasslands and rock outcrops [27]. Annual precipitation requirements range from 16 to 21 inches (41-53 cm) [87] with 70% obtained during the growing season (August-September) [26].

SUCCESSIONAL STATUS:

Prairie Junegrass acts as a seral-recolonizer of previously water- stressed areas [122] and played a leading role in recolonizing bare soil of mid-continental grasslands after the droughts of 1933 to 1940 [121].

SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT:

Prairie Junegrass has a wide distribution, so only a general description of seasonal development is given. Avoidance of growth during dry, summer months is ubiquitous [11]. Development is associated with rapid, early, spring growth [11,29] with maximum leaf growth taking place the first half of May [11].

	% Mature Foliage Height
Mid-April	65%
End-of-May	90%

(Observed within sandhills region of Nebraska)

Related categories for Koeleria macrantha | Prairie Junegrass