The native grasses of southeastern Arizona are fun to learn. I’m not a botanist…hopefully that’s not a surprise…and so I learn them from friends, from floras or field guides and then sort of memorize them, their shape and their texture…Hmm, that’s the way I learn all the plants…oh well, anyway, many of our beautiful native grasses have ended up in the nursery trade. Yay! Species of Muhlenbergia, Schizachyrium, or Bouteloua are some that I’ve grown over the years. Hopefully I’ve emphasized the word native. Our borderlands are getting overrun…well actually, are already overrun, as in Lehmans’ lovegrass or buffle grass…and ruined by exotic grasses. I cringe when reading the seed catalogs that come in the winter mail and see all the exotic grass seed available. I can look down the listed species and shout “invasive!” many times. So go native with the grasses, right? Right.
Bouteloua radicosa was the star of this show, but I couldn’t find my photo of purple gramma, so the photos are of Bouteloua hirsuta in my mitt and also of a thick stand of B. hirsuta and B. gracilis mixed together. Glorious! Oh, and below is a link to yet another Growing Native about a native grass.
Petey complains about spring winds, but a butterfly seems to bring him around. Let’s listen.
I love the botanical name Amoreuxia. I think it may be the “euxia” part that feels so pleasant to say. And the specific epithet...
In southeastern Arizona Datura wrightii is the preferred source of nectar for the moth Manduca sexta and you may also notice that the caterpillar,...
