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Living in and near the Great Basin is an abundance of highly adaptive native plant species that have adjusted over a millennia. Unfortunately, many of these sensitive plants have succumbed to new housing developments and shopping centers. It is easy to forget where we live and what lived here before we moved into our new homes. The Great Basin ecoregion is in fact the most northerly of the four American deserts and is comprised of a series of uplifted mountain ranges and intervening valleys. There are approximately one hundred internally drained basins within this ecoregion.
This huge region has been home for many species of plants. The most dominant plants include cold-temperate species such as sagebrushes (Artemisia), saltbrushes (Atriplex), and winterfat (Ceratoides lanata). These scrub species are multi-branched, non-sprouting, aromatic semishrubs with soft wood and evergreen leaves. The Great Basin also contains species with evolutionary ties to warmer climates, such as rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus), hopsage (grayia) and horsebrush (Tetradymia).
Not as dominant, and therefore often overlooked, are the native grasses that feed wildlife and stabilize the soil. They are found living on the fringe of the Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin desert. One that is commonly found is Great Basin Wildrye, Leymus cinereus. This native perennial prefers cool temperatures. It’s an unusually large and robust bunchgrass that spreads by small underground stems known as tillers. The grass can clump from one to three feet in diameter and reach a height of two to five feet. This grass begins growing in early spring, and the seeds mature by August. It reproduces from seeds and tillers. The handsome seed heads stand erect and can reach a height of ten inches. The leaves are coarse and broad and will grow to one-and-a-half feet long.
Basin wildrye is native to Utah and grows on riverbanks, in ravines, on moist or dry slopes, and on plains at elevations from 4,500 feet on up steep mountain slopes at 10,000 feet elevation. It is adapted to areas with 15 to 25 inches of annual precipitation, and is usually found on sites where extra moisture is available, such as riparian sites, temporary ponds, swales, and playas.
Also common in the Great Basin is Indian ricegrass, Achnatherum hymenoides. It’s Utah’s state grass, but ranges much wider than the state. This perennial, like many native grasses, prefers cool temperatures. As it matures it is an erect bunchgrass that spreads by tillers and reproduces by seed. It can reach a height of one to two-and-a-half feet. It grows in early spring, and produces insignificant flowers in late fall. The seed head is what makes this plant attractive to any native plant enthusiast. The seed head produces hair-like branches that spread at distinctly wide angles. The leaves are slender and grayish. It is drought tolerant and found at elevations between 3,000 and 10,000 feet. Indian Ricegrass is adapted to a wide variety of soils, but does not do well on wet or poorly drained soils.
Information about these and many more native grass plant species can be found in the Intermountain Flora book series, which is available at some libraries and specialty bookstores. To experience native plants, please visit our native garden here in the Arboretum. We are located within Rancho San Rafael Regional Park and open at 8:00 a.m. There is no charge for touring the garden.
Bill Carlos, M.S., is the horticulturist at the Wilbur D. May Arboretum and Botanical Garden located in Rancho San Rafael Park. |
