birdandhike.com logo
Home | Vegetation | Plant Species | Grasses
Sand Ricegrass (Eriocoma hymenoides)
Grasses Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)

General: Sand Ricegrass (Eriocoma hymenoides) is a common, upright grass that grows in individual clumps (bunches) in the deserts around Las Vegas. Sand Ricegrass is a stately bunchgrass that grows to about 2 feet and has a wide, open mass of branched flower stalks. The many seeds are relatively large and rice-like, and native peoples and pioneers harvested the seeds for food.

Sand Ricegrass is a fairly common component of vegetation associations in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zones.

Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)

Family: Grass (Poaceae).

Other Names: Achnatherum hymenoides. Sand Ricegrass

Plant Form: Perennial grass. Grows in bunches.

Height: About 2 feet tall.

Stems:

Leaves:

Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)
Very open inflorescence with few, small flowers

Flowers:

Seeds: Large for a wild grass, about half the size of a grain of white rice.

Habitat: Mostly sandy soils.

Elevation: to about 6,500 feet.

Distribution:

Comments:

Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)
Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)
Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)
Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)
Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)
Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)
Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) Sand Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
copyright; Last updated 240911

All Grasses Plant Species Index Glossary Copyright, Conditions, Disclaimer Home
Google Ads