NativeSeed Group Inventory

This is an annual grass that grows between 1 to 2 feet tall. It is used for habitat restoration and as a cover crop. This grass prefers full sun and is typically found in grasslands, prairies, and disturbed areas.

• Growing Region:  Pacific Northwest, Intermountain West, California
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  0-1 ft

Warm season, perennial bunchgrass with an extensive fibrous root system. Performs best on deep, moist, fine textured soils but will persist on coarser soils on dry sites. Tolerant of a wide range of soil pH. Capable of thriving on both saline and non-saline sites, sometimes becoming abundant. Versatile, tolerant of both drought and water inundation once established. Recommended for seeding disturbed saline soils and as a soil binder. Palatable to livestock and wildlife and provides valuable cover and food for birds, jackrabbits and other small mammals. Tolerant of moderate grazing.  

• Growing Region:  Intermountain West, Southwest
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-2 ft

Short, densely tufted, Cool season perennial bunchgrass adapted to subalpine and alpine slopes and meadows. Wide variety of soils from clay to gravel. Leaves form a dense mat providing good soil cover. Good palatability for wildlife but does not produce a lot of forage. Useful for revegetating high elevation rangelands

• Growing Region:  Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  0-1 ft

Formerly Elymus angustus. Robust, Cool season, long-lived, perennial bunchgrass with short creeping rhizomes. Well adapted to loam and clay soils, drought tolerant and extremely salt and alkaline resistant. Excellent winter hardiness. Root system may extend to 14 ft. below the surface, making it useful for soil stabilization. Excellent forage, especially in winter when plants stand above the snow surface available for grazing. Nearly as productive as Tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum) on saline soils.

• Growing Region:  Pacific Northwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Agricultural Conservation, Erosion Control, Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-4 ft

Cool season, robust annual or short-lived perennial that may develop short rhizomes. Commonly occurs on wet sites such as ponds, swamps, ditch banks, shallow marshes and sloughs. Prefers clay soils; tolerant of saline soils. Shallow-rooted and able to colonize denuded wetland soils, making it excellent for riparian reclamation. Seeds are eaten by migratory birds. Palatable and frequently used for hay or grazing. 

• Growing Region:  Pacific Northwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Agricultural Conservation, Erosion Control, Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-3 ft

Cool season, rhizomatous, native perennial grasslike common in many western states. Occurs in saturated soils of wet meadows and springs, from foothills to moderate elevations up to 9,000 ft. Often found on gentle slopes below seeps and on flat areas next to streams, sometimes in dense stands. Tolerates partial shade. Well-adapted to soils rich in organic matter but also to fine-textured saturated mineral soils. Useful for wetland and riparian restoration. 

• Growing Region:  Intermountain West, Pacific Northwest
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-3 ft

Formerly Lolium multiflorum. Cool season, annual bunchgrass adapted to many sites where adequate water is available. Establishes quickly and easily. Highly palatable to livestock and wildlife. Excellent for temporary pasture or for early spring growth in a perennial pasture mix. Use in erosion control blends for quick, temporary cover. Also used for winter over-seeding of dormant Warm season Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) lawns in the south and southwest.

• Growing Region:  Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Commercial Beautification, Erosion Control, Land Reclamation, Turf, Forage & Pasture
• Height:  1-3 ft

Formerly L. multiflorum. Cool season, annual bunchgrass adapted to many sites where adequate water is available. Establishes quickly and easily. Highly palatable to livestock and wildlife. Excellent for temporary pasture or for early spring growth in a perennial pasture mix. Use in erosion control blends for quick, temporary cover. Also used for winter over-seeding of dormant Warm season Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) lawns in the south and southwest. Varieties listed below.

• Growing Region:  Pacific Northwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-4 ft

Formerly Trichachne californica. Warm season, very drought tolerant, perennial bunchgrass adapted to deep well-drained soils. Rarely found in pure stands. Will repeatedly go to seed throughout the growing season when moisture remains available. Attractive white cotton-like seed heads make it useful as an ornamental. Extremely palatable to livestock and useful for improving rangelands.

• Growing Region:  Southwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Agricultural Conservation, Commercial Beautification, Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-2 ft

Cool season, drought tolerant perennial bunchgrass with a coarse, dense fibrous root system. Most commonly found on thin, heavy soils but also occurs on deeper, coarser sites, often in association with Ponderosa pine communities. Provides good palatability to livestock and wildlife. Useful for controlling soil erosion and improving rangelands.

• Growing Region:  Southwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Agricultural Conservation, Erosion Control, Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-2 ft

Formerly Carex rostrata. Cool season, strongly rhizomatous, native perennial grasslike. Forms large, dense stands in shallow water or wet soils around waterways and sometimes in wet meadows, from low to moderately high elevations. Common throughout its range. Moderately palatable but provides good wildlife habitat. Useful for wetland and riparian restoration.

• Growing Region:  Pacific Northwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-2 ft

This is a perennial grass-like sedge that grows between 1 to 3 feet tall. It is commonly used in wetland restoration projects. This plant prefers full sun and grows in wet, marshy soils, often found in wetlands and along streams.

• Growing Region:  Pacific Northwest, Intermountain West, California
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Commercial Beautification, Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-2 ft

Formerly Poa ampla. Robust, Cool season, perennial bunchgrass with a shallow fibrous root system, sometimes spreading by short rhizomes. Occurs on a variety of sites but is intolerant of poorly drained soils or high water tables; drought tolerant. The most robust of the native bluegrasses. Early spring green-up and excellent forage production. Found in sagebrush communities, meadows and openings in aspen stands. Excellent palatability to livestock and wildlife year-round. Seeds valued by birds and small mammals.

• Growing Region:  Pacific Northwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Agricultural Conservation, Forage & Pasture, Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-2 ft

Warm season, long-lived, perennial, bunchy sod-former occurs on a wide range of sites but thrives on well-drained soils. Rhizomes spread slowly. Tall, averaging 5-8 ft. in height, occasionally reaching 12 ft. Tolerates slightly acidic and saline soils. Withstands periodic flooding and high water tables. Co-dominant species with Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) in the tallgrass prairie ecosystem; minor component of some mixed-grass prairie sites. Excellent palatability and highly productive.

• Growing Region:  Midwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Agricultural Conservation, Erosion Control, Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation
• Height:  1-4 ft

Warm season, drought tolerant, perennial bunchgrass adapted to various soil textures. Tolerant of alkaline and saline soils; also seasonal flooding. Found in semidesert grasslands, shrublands and wetland communities on rocky slopes, plateaus, mesas and floodplains at 2000-7000 ft. elevation. Often in pure stands of 3-8 ft. in height; excellent for trapping wind erosion. Valuable forage and cover for wildlife. 

• Growing Region:  Southwest, Intermountain West
• Blooms: 
• Life Form:  Grass

• Application Type:  Habitat Restoration, Land Reclamation, Erosion Control
• Height:  4+ ft