STATE+GRASS

STATE GRASS- BLUEBUNCH WHEATGRASS

Bluebunch Wheatgrass Details

Life Span: Perennial Origin: Native

Season: Early Summer

Growth Characteristics: Erect Bluebunch Wheatgrass grow 1 to 2.5 feet tall.

Seedhead: Slender spike up to 6 inches long.

Leaves: Blades flat or loosely rolled; glabrous or pubscent above, commonly 1/16 inch wide.

Soil: Mostly found in well-drained, medium to coarse texture soils which vary in depth from shallow to very deep.

Uses: Is excellent for cattle, horse, sheep, elk, and deer. It cures well and makes good standing winter feed. Location: Bluebunch is found all over the state and all through the West. Found in flat areas and below mountains.

History on Bluebunch Wheatgrass -Montana designated the state grass symbol in 1973.

-A community development group in Havre called FORUM sponsored jointly by the area Chamber of Commerce and Hill County Extension Service, began a drive to have the state designate an official grass in the spring of 1972.

-Under the leadership of Mrs. Toni Hagener, FORUM elected support from all quarters. Sponsors included the state’s press and U.S.D.A. Range Conservationist Joseph C. Zacek.

FORUM’s efforts reached fruition in Senator David James Senate Bill 41, during the 1973 session.

-The scientific name for Bluebunch Wheatgrass is Agropyron spicutum (pursh).