Selected Plants of Navajo Rangelands

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

Sandbur, field
Dííłiihí
(a.k.a. Schrader's brome)

Reddish-brown burs along the stem
Macleay Grass Man

Sandbur is an annual grass with a spreading rather than upright growth habit. It often grows in areas that are seasonally flooded. The barbed spines on the burs can inflict a painful wound and are easily picked up and transported by clothing, hair, animal fur, and tires. The spikelets are hidden within the armed burs.

*Description courtesy of Western New Mexico University's Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness.

Burs with primarily green-yellow coloration, juxtaposed with leaf blades
Robert Vidéki, Doronicum Kft., Bugwood.org
Panicle showing arrangement of burs and leaf blades
Joseph M. DiTomaso, University of California - Davis
Close-up of dried bur (and its sharp spines!), which has turned a golden brown
D. Walters and C. Southwick
Leaf blades and sheaths
Joseph M. DiTomaso, University of California - Davis
Scientific Name
Cenchrus spinifex
Plant Type
Grass / Grasslike
Growing Season
Warm Season
Stem Placement
Basal
Habitats
  • Brushlands
  • Grasslands
⚠
Noxious
⚠
May cause injury
For definitions, see the glossary.

Copyright 2018 New Mexico State University. Individual photographers retain all rights to their images. Partially funded by the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (westernsare.org; 435.797.2257), project EW15-023. Programs and projects supported by Western SARE are equally open to all people. NMSU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action educator and employer..

NMSU does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, retaliation, serious medical condition, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, spousal affiliation or protected veteran status in its programs and activities as required by equal opportunity/affirmative action regulations and laws and university policy and rules. For more information please read the NMSU Notice of Non-discrimination (opens in new window).