|
Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
|
|
Introductory
SPECIES: Leucopoa kingii | Spike Fescue
ABBREVIATION :
LEUKIN
SYNONYMS :
Hesperochloa kingii
Festuca kingii
Poa kingii
Wasatchia kingii
Festuca watsoni
Festuca confinis
SCS PLANT CODE :
NO-ENTRY
COMMON NAMES :
spike fescue
spikegrass
western grass
King spikefescue
Kings fescue
TAXONOMY :
The fully documented scientific species name is Leucopoa kingii (S.
Wats.) W.A. Weber. Spike fescue was formerly recognized as a species in
the genus Festuca or placed in the monotypic genus Hesperochloa,
Hesperochloa kingii (S. Wats.) Rydb. [5]. It was removed from the genus
Festuca because of dissimilar characteristics such as dioecism and
slightly keeled but unawned lemmas [14]. Weber placed the plant in the
small Asiatic genus, Leucopoa, which is composed of dioecious,
fescuelike grasses [5].
LIFE FORM :
Graminoid
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
D. Tirmenstein, March 1987
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
D. Tirmenstein, June 1987
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Tirmenstein, Debra A. 1987. Leucopoa kingii. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Leucopoa kingii | Spike Fescue
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Spike fescue grows from southeastern Oregon to southern California
eastward to Montana and Wyoming, and southward to South Dakota,
Nebraska, and Colorado [5]. It occurs in the Basin Ranges of Nevada and
adjacent parts of California, and in the San Bernardino Mountains of
southern California [5].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES38 Plains grasslands
STATES :
CA CO ID MT NE NV OR SD UT WY
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
BIHO BICA CRMO DINO FOBU GLAC
GRTE ROMO TICA WICA YELL
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K011 Western ponderosa pine
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K019 Arizona pine forest
K021 Southwestern spruce - fir forest
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K037 Mountain mahogany - oak scrub
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K051 Wheatgrass - bluegrass
K055 Sagebrush steppe
K056 Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
K063 Foothills prairie
K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
Disturbed areas
SAF COVER TYPES :
206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
210 Interior Douglas-fir
237 Interior ponderosa pine
239 Pinyon - juniper
244 Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Spike fescue is a climax indicator in a number of sagebrush-grassland
and drier forested habitat types and plant communities. It occurs with
limber pine (Pinus flexilis), ponderosa pine (P. ponderosa), mountain
big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana), curlleaf
mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius), bluebunch wheatgrass
(Pseudoroegneria spicata), and prairie junegrass (Koeleria macrantha).
Publications listing spike fescue as an indicator or dominant species in
vegetation or habitat types are presented below.
Forest vegetation of the Medicine Bow National Forest in southeastern
Wyoming: a habitat types classification [1]
Forest vegetation of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in
central Colorado: a habitat type classification [11]
Forest vegetation of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in
central Colorado: a habitat type classification [11]
Key to the forested plant associations of northern Colorado and southern
Wyoming [15]
Coniferous forest habitat types of northern Utah [18]
A preliminary classification of high-elevation sagebrush-grass vegetation
in northern and central Nevada [20]
Forest habitat types of eastern Idaho-western Wyoming [23]
Forest habitat types of central Idaho [24]
Plant associations (habitat types) of Region 2, 3rd ed. [25]
Forest habitat types on the Medicine Bow National Forest [27].
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Leucopoa kingii | Spike Fescue
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Spike fescue is rated good to fair for livestock and elk [6]. In
eastern Idaho and western Wyoming, cattle reportedly use spike fescue
only on slopes which are not steep [23]. In Utah, cattle and sheep
graze spike fescue during the spring but use it only sparingly after
midsummer [26]. Spike fescue may occur on summer or winter big game
ranges [18,23]. In central Idaho, mule deer use of spike fescue is
described as "light but frequent" [24]. Productivity is low, since this
species most often occurs in scattered bunches [26].
PALATABILITY :
Spike fescue is considered palatable for cattle and sheep during the
spring but becomes less palatable as it matures [26]. The degree of use
shown by livestock and wildlife species for spike fescue in several
western states is as follows [6]:
CO MT UT WY
Cattle Good Good Fair Good
Sheep Fair Fair Fair Fair
Horses Good Good Good Good
Pronghorn ---- ---- Fair Poor
Elk ---- ---- Good Good
Mule deer ---- ---- Fair Poor
White-tailed deer ---- ---- ---- Poor
Small mammals ---- ---- Fair ----
Small nongame birds ---- ---- Fair ----
Upland game birds ---- ---- Fair ----
Waterfowl ---- ---- Poor ----
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Spike fescue is rated good in energy value but poor in protein value
[6]. Nutritional content is as follows [21]:
Spike Fescue
in % Aerial Part Aerial Part Aerial Part Aerial Part Aerial Part
Fresh Fresh Fresh-Early Fresh- Over ripe
-Immature Bloom Mature
Ash 7.4 7.6 7.8 7.5 6.4
Crude Fiber 33.9 29.2 33.6 37.2 39.0
Ether Extract 4.2 4.4 4.3 3.8 5.3
N-free Extract 43.0 40.0 39.8 44.9 45.5
Protein(Nx6.25)11.5 18.8 14.5 6.6 3.8
Dig. Protein
cattle 7.7 13.9 10.2 3.5 1.1
goats 7.3 14.1 10.1 2.7 0.1
horses 7.3 13.5 9.8 3.1 0.8
sheep 7.7 14.5 10.5 3.1 0.5
Ca 0.44 ---- 0.49 0.44 0.25
P 0.30 ---- 0.38 0.20 0.07
COVER VALUE :
Spike fescue provides some cover for smaller birds and mammals. The
degree to which spike fescue provides environmental protection during
one or more seasons for wildlife species in two western states is as
follows [6]:
UT WY
Pronghorn Poor Poor
Elk Poor Poor
Mule deer Poor Poor
White-tailed deer ---- Poor
Small mammals Good Good
Small nongame birds Fair Good
Upland game birds Fair Fair
Waterfowl Poor Poor
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Spike fescue grows well on many harsh, droughty, windswept microsites.
It is reported to have moderate value for erosion control [6]. Spike
fescue is rated as having low to moderate potential for short-term
revegetation and moderate to high potential for long-term revegetation
projects [6].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Leucopoa kingii | Spike Fescue
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Spike fescue is a coarse, densely tufted, rhizomatous, perennial
bunchgrass which grows from 12 to 39 inches (3-10 dm) in height [5,12].
Plants grow from dense clumps of straw-colored sheaths and culms [5].
Spike fescue often grows in a ringlike pattern, forming tufts up to 6.6
feet (2 m) in diameter [5]. This bluish-green grass is smooth to
densely puberulent-scaberulous [14,19].
Heavily veined blades are stiff, erect, glaucous, and flat to loosely
involate [14,19]. Hollow culms grow in dense clumps [5,12]. Sheaths
are smooth, striate, and open, and reddish-brown when older [19].
Evidence suggests that the leaves of spike fescue are able to restrict
transpiration through stomatal control, permitting growth on sites with
high solar radiation loads during the growing season [4].
Spike fescue is three to five flowered, with spikelets laterally
compressed [5]. Glumes are broadly lanceolate and membranous, with
lemmas generally awnless [5]. Awnless ligules are membranous with a
rounded keel [5,14]. Fruit is bidentate [14].
Spike fescue is functionally dioecious [13] and is unusual in having an
excess number of males within populations [9]. Spike fescue is believed
to exhibit habitat assortment by sex, with fewer females present in more
xeric habitats [9].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Hemicryptophyte
Geophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Little is known about regeneration of spike fescue. It is known to be a
rhizomatous perennial [12]. The plants are described as "functionally
dioecious" and produce bidentate fruit [13]. Reproduction may be
sexual, vegetative, or both [9]. Female plants growing in xeric
habitats generally display less reproductive vigor than do male plants
from the same sites [9].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Spike fescue grows on moist to, more typically, dry grasslands, open
woods, and rolling hills up to 11,000 feet (3,353 m) in elevation [14].
It occurs on open ridges and gravelly mountainsides, commonly on severe,
windy, droughty sites [5,24]. Spike fescue often occurs in a thin stip
between adjacent drier nonforest communities and more mesic slopes
dominated by Douglas-fir (Pseudosuga menziesii), spruce (Picea spp.), or
subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) [23]. This species is adapted to
growth under low air temperatures and high solar radiation loads [4].
The understory in spike fescue communities is typically low and sparse,
with bare soil or rock comprising a high percentage of the cover
[23,27]. Sites frequently have a "savanna-like" appearance [23].
Spike fescue grows best on sandy to clayey loams [6], but on some sites
soils may be dry and stony [27]. Common associates include limber pine,
mountain big sagebrush, curlleaf mountain-mahogany, bluebunch
wheatgrass, and prairie junegrass. Annual forbs are often well
represented [P. Stickney, pers. comm. 1987].
Elevational ranges are as follows [6]:
from 5,500-10,000 ft (1,678-3,050 m) in CO
5,200-9,500 ft (1,586-2,898 m) in MT
5,400-10,300 ft (1,647-3,142 m) in UT
5,200-10,000 ft (1,586-3,050 m) in WY
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Spike fescue is considered to be an indicator of climax in a number of
sagebrush-grassland, mountain grassland, and drier forest habitat types.
It grows as a topographic climax species on dry, stony, windswept ridges
and other harsh microsites [27].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
New growth arises from clumps of persistent, reddish-brown or
straw-colored sheaths and culms [5,19]. Flowering dates are as follows
[6]:
Beginning of Flowering End of Flowering
CO June August
MT June August
WY June August
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Leucopoa kingii | Spike Fescue
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Spike fescue is described as a rhizomatous perennial [12]. Rhizomatous
grasses often increase after burning [3].
The growth habit of spike fescue closely resembles that of rough fescue
(Festuca scabrella). Both species are characterized by a dense
arrrangement of sheaths and culms, although spike fescue is somewhat
less tightly packed than rough fescue [P. Stickney, pers. comm. 1987].
The densely packed growth form helps protect the interior of the plant
from damage by fire.
Harsh, montane sites in which spike fescue typically grows are
characterized by short-lived fuels and relatively few woody fuels.
Fires tend to be of the flashy-grassland type which may enhance the
survival of species such as spike fescue [P. Stickney, pers. comm.
1987].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Leucopoa kingii | Spike Fescue
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire generally consumes the foliage of dry grasses. The rhizomatous,
fairly densely packed growth form of spike fescue may minimize the
impact of fire on this species.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Rhizomatous grasses often increase in abundance following burning [3].
Spike fescue resembles rough fescue in growth form. Infrequent burning
can actually stimulate the growth of rough fescue [(P. Stickney, pers.
comm. 1987] and presumably does little harm to spike fescue.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Leucopoa kingii | Spike Fescue
REFERENCES :
1. Alexander, Robert R.; Hoffman, George R.; Wirsing, John M. 1986. Forest
vegetation of the Medicine Bow National Forest in southeastern Wyoming:
a habitat type classification. Res. Pap. RM-271. Fort Collins, CO: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and
Range Experiment Station. 39 p. [307]
2. 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]
3. Britton, Carlton M.; Ralphs, Michael H. 1979. Use of fire as a
management tool in sagebrush ecosystems. In: The sagebrush ecosystem: a
symposium: Proceedings; 1978 April; Logan, UT. Logan, UT: Utah State
University, College of Natural Resources. 101-109. [518]
4. Brown, Ray W. 1973. Transpiration of native and introduced grasses on a
high-elevation harsh site. In: Ecology and reclamation of devestated
land. London: Gordon & Breach Science Publ., L.T.D.: 467-481. [10702]
5. 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]
6. 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]
7. Dorn, Robert D. 1977. Flora of the Black Hills. [Place of publication
unknown]: Robert D. Dorn and Jane L. Dorn. 377 p. [820]
8. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
9. Fox, J. F.; Harrison, A. Tyrone. 1981. Habitat assortment of sexes and
water balance in a dioecious grass. Oecologia. 49: 223-235. [952]
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. Hess, Karl; Alexander, Robert R. 1986. Forest vegetation of the Arapaho
and Roosevelt National Forests in central Colorado: a habitat type
classification. Res. Pap. RM-266. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment
Station. 48 p. [1141]
12. Hitchcock, A. S. 1951. Manual of the grasses of the United States. Misc.
Publ. No. 200. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Agricultural Research Administration. 1051 p. [2nd edition revised by
Agnes Chase in two volumes. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.]. [1165]
13. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1973. Flora of the Pacific
Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 730 p. [1168]
14. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur; Ownbey, Marion. 1969. Vascular
plants of the Pacific Northwest. Part 1: Vascular cryptograms,
gymnosperms, and monocotyledons. Seattle, WA: University of Washington
Press. 914 p. [1169]
15. Johnston, Barry C. 1985. Key to the forested plant associations of
northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. Lakewood, CO: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. 30 p. [1296]
16. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
17. 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]
18. Selmar, D. 1989. Cyanogenesis and metabolization of cyanogenic
compounds: an example for multifunctionality of secondary plant
products. Planta Medica. 55(7): 592. [11553]
19. May, Morton. 1960. Key to the major grasses of the Big Horn Mountains
based on vegetative characters. Bulletin 371. Laramie, WY: University of
Wyoming, Agricultural Experiment Station. 44 p. [3236]
20. Mooney, Melissa Jane. 1985. A preliminary classification of
high-elevation sagebrush-grass vegetation in northern and central
Nevada. Reno, NV: University of Nevada. 123 p. Thesis. [1689]
21. National Academy of Sciences. 1971. Atlas of nutritional data on United
States and Canadian feeds. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences.
772 p. [1731]
22. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
23. Steele, Robert; Cooper, Stephen V.; Ondov, David M.; [and others]. 1983.
Forest habitat types of eastern Idaho-western Wyoming. Gen. Tech. Rep.
INT-144. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 122 p. [2230]
24. Steele, Robert; Pfister, Robert D.; Ryker, Russell A.; Kittams, Jay A.
1981. Forest habitat types of central Idaho. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-114.
Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain
Forest and Range Experiment Station. 138 p. [2231]
25. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region.
1983. Plant associations (habitat types) of Region 2.,3rd ed. Lakewood,
CO. 224 p. [2385]
26. Vallentine, John F. 1961. Important Utah range grasses. Extension
Circular 281. Logan, UT: Utah State University. 48 p. [2937]
27. Wirsing, John M.; Alexander, Robert R. 1975. Forest habitat types on the
Medicine Bow National Forest, southeastern Wyoming: preliminary report.
Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-12. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 11
p. [2591]
28. 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]
29. 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]
Index
Related categories for Species: Leucopoa kingii
| Spike Fescue
|
 |
