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 Â½ 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

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