Scientific Name
Danthonia unispicata (Thurb.) Munro ex Macoun
Common Name(s)
Onespike danthonia, onespike oatgrass, oneside oatgrass, few-flower wild oat-grass
Tribe / Family Name
Danthonieae
Flowering Period
June to August
Symbol
DAUN
Description
Onespike danthonia is a native cool-season perennial bunchgrass that spreads by seeds, tillers, and cleistogamous spikelets. Culms usually range from 15–30 cm in height. Its inflorescence usually has 1–2(3) spikelets (if more than 1, inflorescence racemose). Spikelets are usually 12–26 mm long, 3 to 6-flowered, and awned (awns 5.5-13 mm long, geniculate and twisted, and attached below the lobes of the lemmas). Ligules are a fringe of hairs up to 0.5 mm long.
General Info
Onespike danthonia can normally be found in dry, hot scablands, prairies and meadows, rocky slopes, forest openings, and woodlands.
Similar Species
Onespike danthonia is very distinctive and can be differentiated from other oatgrasses. Unlike onespike danthonia, which normally has one spikelet, both California oatgrass (Danthonia californica) and timber oatgrass (Danthonia intermedia) can have multiple spikelets on each of their inflorescences. Another way to distinguish onespike danthonia from other oatgrasses is by observing the stems. Both California oatgrass and timber oatgrass have glabrous stems, and onespike danthonia has hairy stems.
Picture of growth habit.
Inflorescences usually have 1-2 (sometimes 3) spikelets (if more than one, inflorescence racemose).
Close-up picture of spikelet.
Close-up picture of hairy ligule.
Illustration of onespike danthonia. USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950. <i>Manual of the grasses of the United States.</i> USDA Miscellaneous Publication No. 200. Washington, DC.
Distribution map of onespike danthonia. USDA PLANTS Database, 2022.