Illinois Natural History Survey - University of Illinois

Hesperostipa comata
Needle-and-thread
Taxonomy

Synonyms: Stipa comata, Heterostipa comata

Subspecific taxa:

Classification:

  • Magnoliophyta

Other taxonomic & nomenclature sources: USDA Plants;  ITIS;  The Plant List;  IPNI

Species Distribution
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More about map & occurrence records

County Map Legend
Absent:
Not known from county
Medium confidence:
Medium or unknown confidence;
often old records or unverifiable observations
Medium-high confidence:
Often observations by expert botanists
High confidence:
Often vouchered herbarium records
Planted / introduced:
Native species introduced outside historic range,
or only in planted locations within county (e.g., restorations)
Historic / extirpated:
Only historic records for the species; likely extirpated
(Note that this category is not yet functional)

North American distribution maps for this species: FLNA;  USDA Plants;  BONAP;  BISON

Collections, Observations & Flowering by Month [?]

J
0
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
0
J
0
J
0
A
0
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
0

Collections & Observations by Decade [?]

Species Status

Status/Listing: No Information

Notes:

Origin: North America

Species Description

General: Monocot, perennial

Roots: adventitious

Shoots: alternate leaf arrangment; simple leaf type; entire leaf margin; Parallel leaf venation; awl-shaped leaf shape

Inflorescence: panicle

Flowers: perfect; 3 merous; complete; hypogynous ovary position

Fruit: grain

Physiology: autotrophic; C3 C02 fixation

Reproduction: sexual

Ecology & Natural History

Habitat: Species is distributed in loamy soil along railroads.

ILPIN Notes: In PIN found under S. commata commata; that information is used here. Muenscher, W.C.L. 1939. Poisonous Plants of the United States. Macmillan Co. New York, New York. 266 pp. Species is close to S. spartia, but has smaller glumes and lemmas and somewhat shorter awns.

Functional Relationships:

  • Pollinators:
  • Dispersal:
  • Mycorrhizae: endomycorrhizal
  • N2 fixation:

Human Relationships:

  • Edibility [?] :
  • Showy Flowers:

Wildlife and Livestock Information:

  • Food Value:
  • Cover Value:

Coefficient of Conservatism (C-value) [?] :

  • Entire State:
  • Chicago Area:

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