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GRASSES OF THE COLUMBIA BASIN OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Heather Stewart, Richard Hebda Major Groups of Grasses Table of Contents Glossary Sphenopholis Wedgegrass This small genus is native to North America occurring generally in moist sites. Though palatable to livestock, it rarely occurs in abundance in northwest North America. Wedge-shaped glumes are responsible for the botanical name -- sphen in Greek means wedge, and pholis in Greek means scale.   Sphenopholis obtusata (Mich.) Scribn. Prairie Wedgegrass Plant: Sphenopholis obtusata is a native species with two varieties. Variety obtusata grows to 20-80 cm tall. Variety major grows to 30-110 cm tall. It is a tufted perennial. Variety major has a narrow, open flowerhead; and variety obtusata has a dense flowerhead. Leaves and Stem: The smooth or rough or long-haired sheaths are open. There are no auricles. The ligules are 1.5-2 mm long and membranelike with rough or toothed margins. Flat leaf blades feel soft hairy or rough to the touch and are 3-5 mm wide. Flowerhead and Flowers: The open to spikelike flowerhead is 5-15 cm long, and has upright branches. In both varieties the flowerhead appears crowded with a large number of spikelets along the branches. Spikelets consist of one or two flowers. The glumes are rough looking, the first is narrow and the second appears almost hoodlike or wedge-shaped. Glumes are shorter than the the lemma. Lemmas are oblong and rarely awned. Habitat: Prairie Wedgegrass grows in moist meadows, shallow ponds and hotsprings in the steppe and montane zones. In the Columbia Basin, it occurs at Edward's and Loon lakes in the Grasmere region, Fairmont Hotsprings and Pilot Bay Provincial Park. Both varieties of this species are Red Listed by the B.C. Conservation Data Centre Similar Species: The dense, spikelike flowerhead, as well as the hood- or wedge-shaped glume, make this a distinctive grass.

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