National Park Pasture Sage ( frigid) is a part of a larger Blue Grama Grass (Bouteloua gracilis) Group: Forbs vegetation zone known as the mixed grass Group: Warm Season ecosystem that extends throughout the Identification: It is smaller then the Silver Sage Brush of and the . The term 'mixed Identification: Blue Grama will and tends to grow in single, double or triple clumps. Key grass' refers to the fact that no single species increase in abundance in dry years and identification features include the light blue/green plant dominates the prairie and that there is a mixture thrives under prolonged heavy grazing colour and round heads at the end of the stem. When NATIVE PRAIRIE of medium sized and short grasses. Out on this pressure. This short grass forms dense pasture sage flowers the heads of each stem turns yellow. landscape you see today there is at least 70 plant mats of short curly with a Location: This drought resistant perennial forb is common species below your feet. Among these are the seven characteristic "eyelash" looking seed throughout the dry grasslands, open slopes and disturbed ^ .-^ core grass species as well as other equally important head. This is due to all the spikelets sites. Where this plant is abundant is an indicator of animal prairie plants that are outlined in this brochure. We being inserted on one side of the head stem and as it ages it curls over. This overgrazing. encourage you to take some time to find and identify these resilient species out on the prairie. They have grass turns reddish in colour in the fall Fun Fact: Blackfoot Native American Tribes burned the adapted to the harsh climate by being wind pollinators as it is cured. aromatic oily branches so that the fragrant smoke would and having the majority of their plant biomass under repel bugs. It is still Location: Blue Grama has adapted to ground so they are able to reach water sources used as a smudge drier prairie sites such as the uplands during drought. Prairie grasses can be split into a cool and in areas where the soil is poor and for spiritual cleansing season or warm season group. Cool season species today. there is low moisture. It is often found can only grow when their surface pores are open as associated with Needle-and-thread they needf sunlight to make sugar for energy. Warm Grass. season plants can more efficiently store and make sugar allowing their pores to be closed and conserve Fun Fact: Aboriginal peoples used this more water during the day. plant to forecast the upcoming weather. If stalks produced only one seed head the winter would be mild but if there were two or more heads it would be severe. It is a favourite food of the Silver Sage Brush (Artemisia cana) Plains Bison.

Group: June Grass (Koeleria gracilis): Needle-and-thread Grass (Stipa comata) Identification: It is a many branched with dark coloured gnarled and twisted stems that shred like bark. Group: Cool Season Group: Cool Season The leaves are a blue grey or silver in colour and are in Identification: It is one of the shorter Identification: Identification can be the shape of small long ovals. Each sage brush plant has a prairie grasses with spikelets that are achieved by spotting the long soft deep, extensive taproot that allows it to reach water even in supported on short stalks which are curled awns attached to the seeds, seasons of drought. This plant is known to be the smell of usually pressed close together. It will making it look like a threaded sewing the due to its sweet fragrant leaves. turn reddish in colour when cured and needle. It does not come to seed often Location: It commonly grows on lighter eroded soils, valley the seed head opens when they are but when it does around late July, the flats or in the uplands. ready to wind scatter. seed tip sticks into and anchors to any Fun Fact: For medicinal purposes Aboriginals often used this Location:This grass is common wooly material. This helps the plant plant to rid the body of headaches and stomach pains. It is throughout the prairies where it is achieve seed dispersion. an important food source and habitat for both the Pronghorn usually found as single plants in mixed Location:This very nutritious Antelope and the grass communities. It grows in upland bunch grass dominates the drier Greater Sage-grouse. prairie and valley slope areas. prairie regions especially flat upland Fun Fact: In moist conditions the seed grasslands. It is competitive with other heads have a purplish tinge. plants in dry poor soils. Fun Fact: It is known locally as spear grass and is one of the most palatable grasses on the prairies as it grows in early spring and withstands intense grazing.

Parks Pares Canada Canada Canada Green Needle Grass (Stipa viridula) Northern Wheatgrass (Agropyron dasystachym) Slender Wheatgrass (Agropyron trachycaulum) Western Wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii) Group: Cool Season Group: Cool Season Group: Cool Season Group: Cool Season Identification: A tufted perennial Identification: For easy identification Identification: This bunch grass can Identification: This highly adaptable, bunch grass. When trying to identify look for layers or accumulation of dead reach heights of 2-4 feet tall depending perennial grass can be identified by the Green Needle grass a key feature is the plant materials around the stem base. on the amount of moisture received. It stiff blue or green blade leaves which common twice bent awns on the seed The blades will be light green to has a flowering head with glumes that attach to the stem at a 45° angle. These head. It remains green late into the blue in colour with a tapered off end. are almost as long as each spikelet. leaves rarely grow above the seed head summer season and is not one of the Course stem and harsh leaves set it The leaf blades which are often tinted and each plant grows as a single unit. core seven grasses. apart from others. purple, are usually flat and taper off Location: It is commonly found in low near the tip. Location: It grows best in deeper, more Location:This grass is commonly lying areas on heavy alkaline or clay fertile soils such as heavy clay and in associated with western wheat grass Location: Slender Wheatgrass tends to soils. It dominates seasonally flooded areas where there is plenty of moisture. on clay and loam soils but is generally grow in the more moist regions of the moist areas and in the Fun Fact:This species is also known found in the upland prairies of the park. prairies such as around sloughs, saline valleys. as green feather grass due to the form Fun Fact: Northern Wheat Grass is soils or wooded river areas. Fun Fact:This grass will choke out of its seed head. It is the most palatable the most common of the wheat grass Fun Fact: It is less common then the other grasses in competition for water member of the needle grasses. family to be found on the prairies. other wheat grasses found on the while its high water tolerance enables it prairies but is an important early- to escape drowning circumstances. establishment species.

Western Porcupine Grass (Stipa curtiseta) Little Club Moss ( densa) Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) Greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus) Group: Cool Season Group: Forbs Group: Shrubs Group: Shrubs Identification: Porcupine grass is Identification: Although its named a moss, it is actually not Identification:!^ plant is considered a prairie shrub as it Identification: Greasewood is a closely related to Needle-and-thread a moss at all as it has vascular tissue to carry water and usually only reaches 15-20 cm in height. Its features include member of the Goosefoot family grass. This clump grass is most easily nutrients within the plant. This low growing cryptogam forms a woody base with short green leaves erecting from dark and has spiny, dense branches and identified by the long awns resembling carpet like mats that cover 80% of the ground in the mixed stems to give the plant a dark green colour. The root system succulent leaves. The lower branches porcupine quills, which extend from the prairie. Their shallow roots allow immediate uptake of water is very intricate as they grow out of the ground or out of the often transform into thorns. The leaves seeds and the broad, bent flag leaves which can cause competition with plants growing nearby. sides of embankments. This is to aid the plant in acquiring are pale yellowish to green and are hairless or only slightly hairy. The wood on the stems. Location: This plant is the most abundant plant species in every little bit of water that may be on the surface of the is yellow and very hard and tough. Location:This grass occurs on better the park. It is about 40% of the vegetation by weight on the prairies. Flowers appear from June to August. soils and requires higher moisture upland prairie sites. Location: It typically grows on the sides of hills in the barren Location:This shrub grows in alkaline conditions. Such growth spaces include Fun Fact: It does not provide forage for animals but protects shale soil or in eroded areas. or saline soils in semiarid drainage areas in hilly terrain, valley the soil from erosion by Fun Fact: The berries are or arid plains. Usually slopes or in the prairie uplands of the wind, water and tramping used to flavour gin and found in sunny, flat areas, park. by animals such as the are typically light green to exposed hillsides, salt Fun Fact: The seeds of this plant are Plains Bison. It is the reason blue in colour. This plant flats, and around sloughs. readily used for food by various prairie why there is soil for other provides important habitat grassland birds. plants to grow in. for Greater Short-horned Fun Fact: It was used as Lizards. firewood and as shafts for arrows by Indigenous people.