Dasyochloa

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Poales

Familia: Poaceae
Subfamilia: Chloridoideae
Tribus: Cynodonteae
Subtribus: Scleropogoninae
Genus: Dasyochloa
Species: D. pulchella
Name

Dasyochloa Willd. ex Rydb., Fl. Colorado: 18, 37 (1906)
monotypic taxon

References

Willdenow, C.L. von {1906) Agricultural Experiment Station of the Agricultural College of Colorado. Bulletin 100: 18, 37.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2013. Dasyochloa in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2013 Nov. 13. Reference page.
Simon, B.K., Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T., Vorontsova, M., Brake, I., Healy, D. & Alfonso, Y. 2013. GrassWorld, Dasyochloa. Published online. Accessed: 2013 Nov. 13.
Tropicos.org 2013. Dasyochloa. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 13 Nov. 2013.
International Plant Names Index. 2013. Dasyochloa. Published online. Accessed: 13 Nov. 2013.

Dasyochloa is a monotypic genus containing the single species Dasyochloa pulchella[1] (formerly Erioneuron pulchellum),[2] known as desert fluff-grass or low woollygrass , a densely tufted perennial grass found in the deserts of the southwestern United States.[3]

Range and habitat

It is native to the Southwestern United States, California, and northern to central Mexico, where it grows in dry regions such as deserts.
Growth pattern

It is a perennial bunchgrass forming small tufts just a few centimeters high with clumps of short, sharp-pointed leaves. The tufts are often enveloped in masses of cottony fibers; these are actually hairlike strands of excreted and evaporated mineral salts.[1]
Stems and leaves

The leaves produce soft, cob-webby hairs that dissolve in water, after summer rains.[3] The hairs are typically not present in spring.[3] Numerous hairless, wiry, stems are 2–5 inches (5–13 cm) tall.[3]
Inflorescence

The hairy inflorescence is a spikelet on the end of the stem, surrounded by a bundle of bractlike leaves, and is 1/4" to 1/2" long.[3] The spikelets which are pale in color, sometimes striped with red, purple, or green. It blooms from February to May.[3]
References

Grass Manual Treatment Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 314
Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 283