Bunch grass
- Thread starter Tap
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Native Hunter
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I would like to see some pics of it when it makes a head and also know about the height, etc....
It might be orchard grass. I've seen it eaten pretty well at times.
It might be orchard grass. I've seen it eaten pretty well at times.
Tap
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I figured those pics might not be enough for ID...especially winter time pics.
It doesn't look like the Orchard grass that I already have. These leaves are a bit heavier, more coarse, etc.
I've watched this grass go thru a full season and haven't noticed heads, but maybe I just haven't paid close enough attention.
I will monitor the stuff. Obviously, this may take several months.......................
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Native Hunter
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j-bird
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I have a plant like this on my place as well. I was told it was some sort of sedge (wood sedge I think) and thus why is tends to stay somewhat green. the stuff I have has a bit more of a fleshy sort of blade to it than say timothy or orchardgrass. I have it in more damp areas. I am not sure if that is what it is or not...but just what I was told.
Tap
Well-Known Member
It doesnt look like any sedge Ive ever seen. Not saying it couldn't be sedge but if it is sedge, its an odd ball variety for here.
And I'm not necessarily saying I want to eradicate the stuff. As time goes on, I'm realizing that plants that get moderate seasonal use are sometimes desired. High DPSM with plant of high desirability leads to over use and soil damage.
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Mennoniteman
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Interesting. Deer rarely graze on grass because they cannot digest the high levels of lignin. If this wasin the grain family it would have lower lignin levels, although grain doesn't grow on bunches. It looks like tall fescue. When the deer are eating fescue it means they have few other choices.
X-farmerdan
Well-Known Member
I don't know either. Upon seeing the picture for the first time, sedge was my immediate reaction. After reading the comments above, my brain wondered off to some kind of brome grass. Long ago at the coop we used to sell a lot of it for on pastures-- it along with orchard grass and/or timothy, and/or tall fescue. Is there a brome sedge? Tap, what's the soil like in the area where? Wet? Low pH? Weedy? Pasture?
Anyhow, I don't see deer eating whatever it is....
I keep adding to this. Another of my brain bubbles burst. The clipped ends of the grass are very straight and clean. My understanding is that deer rip and don't snip. Could rabbits be eating this, um, whatever it is?
Anyhow, I don't see deer eating whatever it is....
I keep adding to this. Another of my brain bubbles burst. The clipped ends of the grass are very straight and clean. My understanding is that deer rip and don't snip. Could rabbits be eating this, um, whatever it is?
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Tap
Well-Known Member
I doubt that it's rabbits eating it. We have bunnies but not that many and I seldom see them in the areas where the grass in question is. If rabbits are eating it, it would have to be nocturnal activity.
The field...
Seasonally wet slope. North exposure. There's a lot of water that drains down the slope during winter and spring, but it dries-out (during normal years) in summer and fall. Fairly loamy, I guess there is a small % of clay. pH is decent...around 6.4. OM is very good, ~ 5% to 7%. It's never been a pasture, at least not since the 1950s or so. It was mostly a hay field for a few decades until I bought it in 1985. I used to just mow it a few times a summer, but around the late 1990s, I started plotting it. Usually clover, but there has also been different varieties of brassica and a few years of sunflowers. I no longer do any tillage on this slope...too easy to lose topsoil during a rain event. Just throw n mow or minor discing for a few years, now.
Currently, it's a clover plot that's on it's last leg. I need to use up some N. I had planned on sunflowers last summer, but my illness kept me from doing much of anything.
I do have 3 sedges here...purple, yellow and broom. This stuff is not one of those, I'm sure of it.
The field...
Seasonally wet slope. North exposure. There's a lot of water that drains down the slope during winter and spring, but it dries-out (during normal years) in summer and fall. Fairly loamy, I guess there is a small % of clay. pH is decent...around 6.4. OM is very good, ~ 5% to 7%. It's never been a pasture, at least not since the 1950s or so. It was mostly a hay field for a few decades until I bought it in 1985. I used to just mow it a few times a summer, but around the late 1990s, I started plotting it. Usually clover, but there has also been different varieties of brassica and a few years of sunflowers. I no longer do any tillage on this slope...too easy to lose topsoil during a rain event. Just throw n mow or minor discing for a few years, now.
Currently, it's a clover plot that's on it's last leg. I need to use up some N. I had planned on sunflowers last summer, but my illness kept me from doing much of anything.
I do have 3 sedges here...purple, yellow and broom. This stuff is not one of those, I'm sure of it.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
Tap
Well-Known Member
Thanks. Everything is back to normal. Kinda had the perfect storm hit me. Docs originally thought leukemia, then lymphoma. Turned out to be an internal fungal infection. Caused fevers almost daily...highest one was almost 105. Most likely caused by meds for rheumatoid arthritis. All is good now.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
Tap
Well-Known Member
I'm pretty sure its not a sedge, but I could be wrong.
May not be able to ID it until it heads out.
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Native Hunter
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Tap
Well-Known Member
No, not browsing it now but they did continue to hammer it thru the winter.
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Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
I'm in the mood to do some guessing tonight, so I will take a stab at this one. I believe it is Spreading Sedge (Carex laxiculmis). Everything fits on this including the semi-evergreen characteristic. See pictures I found below. Let me know what you think.
https://www.abnativeplants.com/plant/Carex-laxiculmis-Hobb
https://wildridgeplants.com/shop/carex-laxiculmis-spreading-sedge/
http://usinggeorgianativeplants.blogspot.com/2012/10/carex-like-you-mean-it.html
http://www.southeasternflora.com/view_flora.php?plantid=2221
