Favoritos de botanywoman

Voucher taken with permit.

High 50 cm.
Leaf, long 15 cm, wide 4 mm, rolled in.
Ligule 4 mm, with long hairs up to 12 mm.
Infl. 21 cm.
Glumes 18 and 16 mm, incl awn, purple striped, keeled.
1 Floret.
Awn 10 - 13 cm.
Lemma body smooth.
Lemma / palea 4,4 mm / 1,5 mm.
Palea 2-veined.

Comparison of Stipellula capensis (labeled SC in the first pix) with Bromus rubens (BR). B. rubens has much shorter awns. S. capensis is distinctive even as a small plant, more slender and elongated.

These plants were among the 60 Stipa capensis removed from the same area that we weeded exactly a week ago. We were astounded at how quickly those plants had grown. We definitely would have seen most of these 60 plants a week ago if they were anything near the size they were on this trip.

We knew, from weeding out very small plants a week ago, that there would be more plants visible a week later. But we were shocked at how many there were. Given how much space these plants took up in my bag, I have revised my estimate of how many plants we weeded out last time, from ~300 to "500 to 1,000 plants". It could in fact have been more. These 60 plants had to be only a small fraction of what we weeded out last time, way less than 10%.

See:

Plant Species of the Borrego Desert: Poaceae:
Stipa capensis (= Stipellula capensis), spear needlegrass

http://tchester.org/bd/species/poaceae/stipa_capensis.html

Only one plant seen at this location, which was 70 m (240 feet) due south of the main population. See:

Plant Species of the Borrego Desert: Poaceae:
Stipa capensis (= Stipellula capensis), spear needlegrass

http://tchester.org/bd/species/poaceae/stipa_capensis.html

Note how much more robust the Stipa is compared to the surrounding Bromus rubens plants in the first pix.

See:

Plant Species of the Borrego Desert: Poaceae:
Stipa capensis (= Stipellula capensis), spear needlegrass

http://tchester.org/bd/species/poaceae/stipa_capensis.html