Rothrock Grama
Bouteloua rothrockii
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Observed near Camp Creek, Maricopa Co., Arizona. September 13, 2008. A higher resolution image has been uploaded to Wikimedia Commons.
FLOWERS: Tall spikes have 4 to 7 feather-like side branches.
PERENNIAL: Short-lived, perennial grass. Plants can approach a
meter in height.
LEAVES: Narrow leaves are less than 4 mm
wide.
RANGE: Fairly common in the Upland Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico
at on rocky slopes/bajadas and in canyons; more likely in the upper elevations.
Obscure until after summer rains when vigorous growth and flowering begins.
Also ranges to the east from Arizona into New Mexico and Texas.
UNARMED
Poaceae -- Grass Family
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More Information:
Close-up view of one lateral spike; about a dozen stamens are exserted from the flowers. Observed at Mesquite Wash, Maricopa Co., Arizona. September 5, 2009. The small red beetle is a Soft-winged Flower Beetle (Attalus sp.). It will eat some pollen from the anthers ... whether it will also carry pollen from plant to plant and effect pollination is not known.