Pappostipa speciosa
(Trin. & Rupr.) Romasch.
Poaceae
Achnatherum speciosum (Trin. & Rupr.) Barkworth
Achnatherum speciosum Bubani
Jarava speciosa (Trin. & Rupr.) Peñail.
Stipa humilis jonesiana Kuntze
Stipa humilis speciosa (Trin. & Rupr.) Kuntze
Stipa speciosa Trin. & Rupr.
Stipa tehuelches Speg.
Common Name: Desert Needlegrass
General Information
Pappostipa speciosa is a perennial, clump-forming grass producing numerous culms around 25 - 90cm long[
236- Title
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States
- Publication
-
- Author
- Hitchcock. A. S.
- Publisher
- Dover Publications. New York.
- Year
- 1971
- ISBN
- 0-486-22717-0
- Description
- A nice and comprehensive flora, though a bit dated. Good line drawings of each plant, plus a brief idea of the habitat and a few notes on plant uses. Not for the casual reader.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
236- Title
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States
- Publication
-
- Author
- Hitchcock. A. S.
- Publisher
- Dover Publications. New York.
- Year
- 1971
- ISBN
- 0-486-22717-0
- Description
- A nice and comprehensive flora, though a bit dated. Good line drawings of each plant, plus a brief idea of the habitat and a few notes on plant uses. Not for the casual reader.
Range
Southwest N. America - Oregon to Colorado, south to northwest Mexico and New Mexico; S. America - Chile, Argentina
Habitat
Deserts, canyons and rocky hills[
236- Title
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States
- Publication
-
- Author
- Hitchcock. A. S.
- Publisher
- Dover Publications. New York.
- Year
- 1971
- ISBN
- 0-486-22717-0
- Description
- A nice and comprehensive flora, though a bit dated. Good line drawings of each plant, plus a brief idea of the habitat and a few notes on plant uses. Not for the casual reader.
].
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Other Uses Rating |  |
| Habit | Perennial |
| Height | 0.60 m |
| Pollinators | Wind |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Pappostipa speciosa is a plant of drier areas ,usually found in Mediterranean climates with mild winters and warm to hot summers. It grows in the cool season and flowers in the spring. It can tolerate arid areas, and is usually found there the mean annual rainfall is within the range 150 - 500mm[
277- Title
- Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
- Publisher
- United States Department of Agriculture
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
The plant requires a sunny position in a well-drained soil. It typically grows on coarse soils with little or no profile development, including alluvial fans, dry rocky hills, talus slopes, and in canyons[
277- Title
- Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
- Publisher
- United States Department of Agriculture
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
Seed production is highly variable depending on rainfall, and little seed is produced when soil moisture is low and temperatures are high[
277- Title
- Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
- Publisher
- United States Department of Agriculture
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
Edible Uses
Seed - cooked[
257- Title
- Native American Ethnobotany
- Publication
-
- Author
- Moerman. D.
- Publisher
- Timber Press. Oregon.
- Year
- 1998
- ISBN
- 0-88192-453-9
- Description
- Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
].The seed can either be ground into a grain or cooked whole. When boiled, the seed swells up in the same way as rice, and it is said that a cupful is sufficient to fill a pot[
257- Title
- Native American Ethnobotany
- Publication
-
- Author
- Moerman. D.
- Publisher
- Timber Press. Oregon.
- Year
- 1998
- ISBN
- 0-88192-453-9
- Description
- Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
]. The seed is small and fiddly, but able to be harvested in quantity. Traditionally, the stems are harvested in the summer when the seed is ripe. The stems are either placed on rocks and dried for half a day then burned in order to remove the seed, or they are dried for two days and then threshed. The seed can then be winnowed to remove the chaff[
257- Title
- Native American Ethnobotany
- Publication
-
- Author
- Moerman. D.
- Publisher
- Timber Press. Oregon.
- Year
- 1998
- ISBN
- 0-88192-453-9
- Description
- Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
].
Medicinal
None known
Agroforestry Uses:
The plant is not very tolerant of being walked on, but it can be used for can be used for ground cover in arid areas where there is only light disturbance, its roots helping to bind the soil and prevent erosion[
277- Title
- Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
- Publisher
- United States Department of Agriculture
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe.
Division of the clump.
If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.
Useful Temperate Plants Database 2016 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
