Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is a native bunch grass that is easily identified, especially in the late summer and fall when the silvery seed is still atop the stems that have turned “blue”. Look for it at mid elevation on the dry rocky slopes above the desert floor.
Little bluestem is easily found in nurseries as well as in the wild. Its decorative look has established it in urban landscapes and grasses are fun in a personal landscape. They provide movement with the slightest of breeze, but for me more importantly native grasses supply nesting material, seed, and places to hide for native insects and birds. Whatever you do when adding grasses to your wildlife garden stay away from non-natives as they can be invasive and really offer nothing for local critters. Go native and all the native creatures will appreciate it. Believe me.
Mentzelia pumila is in the family Loasaceae. Kearny and Peebles in Arizona Flora note that “the family is remarkable for the diversity and peculiar...
Come on blue dicks and come on spring! Oh, while figuring out that the genus Dichelostemma translates as “a garland which is twice-parted to...
Doing an episode about desert broom (Baccharis sarothroides) is a November tradition. And, so is singing a verse of an old hymn that I...
