Selected Plants of Navajo Rangelands

Diné bikéyah Chi’l nooséłígíí Bąąhą́ą́nosin
Take care of our Navajo Rangelands

Needlegrass, Scribner
Tł’ohtsahí

Close-up photograph of Scribner needlegrass seedheads
Tracey Slotta, hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

Scribner needlegrass grows in dense mats or tufts, often on rocky slopes among conifers. The stalks can grow to three feet tall. It gets its name from the needle-like awns that protrude from its seeds. These awns can be ½ to 1 inch long and are slightly fuzzy.

Scribner needlegrass occurs on parts of the Navajo Nation but is not widespread.

Herbarium image of grass stem and seedhead
New York Botanical Garden
Line drawing of seedhead showing the arrow-like shape of its component parts.
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States. USDA Miscellaneous Publication No. 200. Washington, DC.
Herbarium specimen of a bunchgrass, leafy foliage
C.D. Schelz
Scientific Name
Achnatherum scribneri
Plant Type
Grass / Grasslike
Habitats
  • Piñon-Juniper Woodland
  • Ponderosa Pine / Mixed Conifer

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