BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Nolina microcarpa | Sacahuista 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Sacahuista is a long-lived, perennial, evergreen, monocot half shrub
[14,17,25].  The plant has a basal rosette of long, narrow leaves from a
large, underground, woody caudex that sends up flower stalks 8.2 feet
(2.5 m) in height [24].  The flower head is a densely flowered, terminal
panicle; the fruit is a three-lobed capsule [17].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Undisturbed State:  Phanerophyte (microphanerophyte).
   Burned or clipped state:  Hemicryptophyte.


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Sacahuista reproduces sexually [17], and it resprouts from the woody
caudex [7].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Sacahuista achieves dominance on the more mesic slopes and flats above
5,000 feet (1,515 m) in the arid Southwest [14].

Soils:  Sacahuista occurs in the Alfisol, Aridisol, Entisol, and
Mollisol soil orders [13].

Climate:  Sacahuista inhabits areas where the winters are short and mild
and the summers are long and hot.  The annual precipitation is 12 to 18
inches (25-45 cm) per year, with the majority of it falling in the
summer [3,4,5].

Elevation:  Sacahuista grows at elevations ranging from 3,000 to 6,500
feet (900-1,970 m) [17].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Sacahuista is a member of the climax vegetation of the pinyon-juniper
woodland but also has qualities of an invader.  It increases in response
to grazing and increases under a regime of fire suppression [31].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Sacahuista flowers fom May to June depending on latitude and elevation
[17].

Related categories for Species: Nolina microcarpa | Sacahuista