BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Tridens muticus | Slim Tridens 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Slim tridens is a caespitose, stoloniferous, perennial grass, 8 to 30
inches (20-80 cm) tall.  The bunches are usually narrow, not more than 3
or 4 inches (7 or 10 cm) in diameter [12,15,20].  It is considered a
warm-season grass and exhibits C4 photosynthesis, which is adaptive for
high temperatures and drought conditions [16,22].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Geophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Slim tridens perennates from a shallow rhizome.  Vegetative reproduction
occurs through production of stolons [15].  Slim tridens also reproduces
by seed.  Seed collected for restoration project seed mixes resulted in
a germination rate (without any attempt at stratification, etc.) of 19.8
percent after 14 days [30].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Slim tridens occurs on dry plains, gravelly slopes, canyons and rocky
hills up to 6,000 feet (1,829 m) [15,24].  It is adapted to
well-drained, calcareous and rocky, sandy or clayey soils [9,20,24,32].
It tends to reach higher densities on the slightly wetter sites, such as
elevations between 4,220 and 5,200 feet (1,286 and 1,585 m) [6].

Common shrub associates not listed as SAF cover types include:
creosotebush (Larrea tridentata), wavyleaf oak (Quercus undulata), gray
oak (Q. grisea), one-seed juniper (Juniperus monosperma), lechuguilla
agave (Agave lechuguilla), smooth sotol (Dasylirion leiophyllum),
Opuntia spp., and catclaw mimosa (Mimosa biuncifera) [3,17,25,28,32].

Other common associates (forbs and grasses) include:  skeleton goldeneye
(Viguiera stenoloba), hairy grama (Bouteloua hirsuta), sideoats grama
(B. curtipendula), threeawn (Aristida spp.), hairy tridens (Tridens
pilosum), and curly leaf muhly (Muhlenbergia setifolia) [3,17,25,28,32].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

In a study of secondary succession on plots denuded by mechanical
disturbance, Gehlbach [7] listed slim tridens as dominant in undisturbed
plots.  It occurred on disturbed plots only after three growing seasons,
and it increased when cattle grazing was excluded from the site.
Conversely, other authors have listed it as an increaser on
cattle-grazed sites [3,20,23].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Slim tridens is a warm-season grass, beginning growth early in spring
(late March in New Mexico) and actively growing through the summer, but
with most growth in late spring.  Two periods of flowering occur:  from
April to May and then again September to October.  Seed heads are formed
3 to 5 weeks later [1,15,16,24].

Related categories for Species: Tridens muticus | Slim Tridens