Curly Mesquite

Stoloniferous grasses like curlymesquite generally are less affected by fire than bunchgrasses, due to the smaller amounts of dead, dry material remaining on the plant. Fires tend to burn more quickly over the grass and not penetrate into growing points [5].

curlymesquite

mesquite-grass

curlymesquite grass

common curly-mesquite

In general, shortgrass prairies featuring curlymesquite are not an important habitat for breeding birds [29].

More info for the term: warm-season

Curlymesquite is a native, perennial, warm-season shortgrass. Tufts grow to 4 to 12 inches (10-30 cm) tall [24]. The plant is a sod-former that sends out slender stolons to produce new tufts [27,56].

Longevity of curlymesquite in southern Arizona was determined to be shorter than 9 years on grazed study plots and shorter than 5 years on ungrazed plots [15].

Curly mesquite occurs in the southwestern United States from southern Oklahoma and Texas to Arizona and southeastern California [32,36].

More info for the terms: fire interval, mean fire interval

Curlymesquite is often top-killed by fire, but due to its stoloniferous growth pattern, it is usually able to survive and recover quickly [5].

Mean fire interval for presettlement southwestern desert grasslands was approximately 10 years [28,58].

More info for the term: seed

Because curlymesquite does not regenerate reliably by seed, spring burning under cool conditions that preserve growing points causes less mortality than fall burning. Forage production increases moderately following burning [5,55].

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More info for the term: chamaephyte

Chamaephyte

More info for the term: litter

Curlymesquite is found on dry, open foothills, mesas, rocky slopes, and swales throughout the Southwest [29,32,53]. The plant grows on a wide variety of soils, but grows best on loams to clay loams with pH of 6.8 to 7.4 [36].

Curlymesquite is not a particularly drought-tolerant species [10]. In Arizona desert grasslands, curlymesquite sites receive 13-19 inches (330-483 mm) of precipitation [45]. The semidesert grasslands in New Mexico and Arizona, of which curlymesquite is a prominent component, receive between 10 and 18 inches (250 and 450 mm) annual precipitation, over 50% of which comes from April to September [12].

In southeastern Arizona, curlymesquite is most common on rolling uplands and south-facing treeless slopes, from 1,500 to 6,000 feet (450-1818 m) [32], particularly on sites with much exposed rock and sparse litter [4] and well-drained clay soils [58].

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

  68   Mesquite

239   Pinyon-juniper

241   Western Live oak

242   Mesquite

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

More info for the term: shrub

FRES32   Texas savanna

FRES33   Southwestern shrubsteppe

FRES34   Chaparral-mountain shrub

FRES35   Pinyon-juniper

FRES38   Plains grasslands

FRES40   Desert grasslands

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the term: woodland

K023   Juniper-pinyon woodland

K031   Oak-juniper woodlands

K058   Grama-tobosa shrubsteppe

K060   Mesquite-savanna

K061   Mesquite-acacia

K061   Mesquite-live oak savanna

K086   Juniper-oak savanna

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This species is known to occur in association with the following Rangeland Cover Types (as classified by the Society for Range Management, SRM):

More info for the term: shrub

503   Arizona chaparral

505   Grama-tobosa shrub

508   Creosotebush-tarbush

701   Alkali sacaton-tobosagrass

702   Black grama-alkali sacaton

705   Blue grama-galleta

715   Grama-buffalograss

728   Mesquite-granjeno-acacia

729   Mesquite

733   Juniper-oak

734   Mesquite-oak

Curlymesquite is often top-killed by fire but usually survives [5,55].

Curlymesquite can be an important forage species in the desert Southwest [25,28,53]. In some parts of central and western Texas, curlymesquite is the most important cattle forage [14]. Horses, cattle, domestic sheep, domestic goats, pronghorn, and deer graze it year-round [36]. Curlymesquite is not highly productive [28].

More info for the terms: cactus, woodland

Curlymesquite appears in desert and semi-desert grasslands and shrubsteppes. In desert plains grasslands in the Southwest, curlymesquite and blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) dominate, with hairy grama (B. hirsuta), black grama (B. eriopoda), tobosa (Hilaria mutica), threeawn species (Aristida spp.), New Mexico feathergrass (Stipa neomexicana), sideoats grama (B. curtipendula), and bush muhly (Muhlenbergia porteri). Occasional honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and acacia (Acacia spp.) are also found in this community [25].



In southern Texas, curlymesquite appears in thornscrub woodland with honey mesquite, brasil (Condalia obovata), huisache (A. farnesiana), blackbrush acacia (A. rigidula), white brush (Aloysia gratissima), Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana), cactus (Opuntia spp.), prairie broomweed (Amphiachyris dracunculoides), sensitivebriar (Shrankia latidens), Indian mallow (Abutilon incarnum), Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), red threeawn (Aristida purpurea), buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris), and bristlegrass (Setaria spp.) [9].



On the Edwards Plateau, Texas, curlymesquite is part of short-and mid-grass rangelands, with dominant overstories of redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchottii) and honey mesquite and understories of red threeawn, red grama (B. trifida), hairy tridens (Erioneuron pilosum), Reverchon bristlegrass (S. reverchonii), needleleaf bluet (Hedyotis acerosavar. acerosa), Parks groomwell (Lithospermum parksii), mouse-ear (Tiquilia canescens), and longstalk greenthread (Thelesperma longipes) [17].



Vegetation typings describing communities in which curlymesquite is dominant include:


Flora and vegetation of the Rincon Mountains, Pima County, Arizona [7]

Biotic communities of the Southwest [13]

A vegetation classification system for New Mexico, U.S.A. [16]

A vegetation classification system applied to southern California [41]

More info for the term: graminoid

Graminoid

More info for the term: shrub

Curlymesquite responds well to disturbance [33]. Curlymesquite is highly grazing tolerant [3,4,21,33,39,43,57]. Following herbicide trials in huisache and mesquite stands in southern Texas, curlymesquite was the first grass species to reinvade treated areas [6].



Resinbush (Euryops mulitifus), an introduced shrub from Africa, prevents the growth of curlymesquite from up to 5 to 6.5 feet (1.5-2 m) away [37].

Curlymesquite is of fair to good nutritional value [20,28,56]. Protein content of curlymesquite in Arizona peaks around 13% in August and reaches a low of nearly 2% in November and December [49].



Nutritional content (%) of immature curlymesquite is as follows [40]:

Nutrient
Content

Ash
15.7

Crude fiber
25.6

Ether extract
2.5

N-free extract
39.0

Protein
17.2

Calcium
1.04

Magnesium
0.31

Phosphorus
0.26

Potassium (%)
0.79







 

AZ    CA    NM    OK    TX

Curlymesquite is one of the more palatable grass species in the Southwest [53]. Cattle use is high throughout the plant's range [19,23,28,30].

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Curlymesquite is one of the first grasses to start growth in the late spring [34,51], with seedheads emerging about 1 month later [36,51]. In some areas it is dependent on summer rains to initiate growth. In southern Arizona, annual summer rains normally begin in July, at which time plants begin their rapid growth, mature quickly, and begin to dry up by the middle of October [38]. Except for a few green shoots in the spring, the grasses show no further growth until the summer rains. In the coastal plains of Texas, curlymesquite grows throughout the year, wherever moisture is available [8]. Its growth there does not follow a rigid seasonal pattern, as the area normally receives 30 inches (760 mm) of precipitation yearly. In Texas, flowering occurs mostly form August to October, but occasionally from March to November [24].

Curlymesquite is dormant during drought [56].

More info for the terms: herbaceous, woodland

In the 2nd year following spring prescribed burns in a Madrean evergreen woodland in Arizona, abundance of curlymesquite was significantly (p<0.05) greater on the burned than on the unburned sites [5].

Following a March burn in western Texas in a honey mesquite/tobosa-sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)-buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides)-threeawn community, curlymesquite grass production increased 28% in the 1st growing season after fire [55].

The Research Project Summary, Response of herbaceous vegetation to winter burning in Texas oak savanna provides information on postfire response of curlymesquite and other herbaceous species that was not available when this species review was originally written.

More info for the terms: fire regime, root crown

Surface rhizome/chamaephytic root crown

FIRE REGIMES: Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under "Find FIRE REGIMES".

More info for the terms: density, grassland, presence, seed

Curlymesquite reproduces by seed or, more commonly, by long stolons that establish new tufts [14,27,53,56]. In a good season, the plant can spread as much as 13 feet (4 m) [14].

Plants produce very few seeds and are often sterile [14,56]. Curlymesquite is not self-fertile [14]. After 20 years uncontrolled storage, only 6% of curlymesquite seeds germinated near Globe, Arizona [52]. Seed germination increased from 59 to 92% and 55 to 87% in 2 trials after an afterripening period of 12 weeks. Removing the seed fascicles also increases germination percentage and lengthens storage periods [42].

The presence of seeds in the soil seedbank depends, in part, on management practices. In a soil seedbank study in a semiarid Texas grassland, curlymesquite, which was a dominant feature of the extant vegetation, had high germinable seed density (254/m2) under heavy continuous grazing. Seed density was low to none under grazing exclusion [34,33].

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This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

  3   Southern Pacific Border

  7   Lower Basin and Range

12   Colorado Plateau

13   Rocky Mountain Piedmont

14   Great Plains

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Curlymesquite is a mid-seral species [26,45]. Curlymesquite, due to its grazing tolerance, dominates on overgrazed sites [33,45,57].

Curlymesquite is not shade tolerant [36,56].

The fully documented scientific name of curlymesquite is Hilaria belangeri (Steud.) Nash (Poaceae) [27,31,32]. There are 2 varieties of curlymesquite [31]:



H. b. var. belangeri (Steud.) Nash

H. b. var. longifolia (Vasey) A.S. Hitchc.

More info for the term: seed

Curlymesquite has good soil binding qualities and grows on most soils, so it has potential as a rehabilitation species [4,37,47,57]. Commercial seed is hard to get, so mulching with hay is the most economical seed source [10,11]. Also, curlymesquite is not drought resistant, so revegetated sites need sufficient irrigation [10,11].

Hilaria belangeri (Steud.) Nash
Anthephora Belangeri Steud. Syn. Gram. 111. 1854.
Scleropelta stolonifera Buckl. Prel. Rep. Geol. & Agr. Surv. Tex. App. 1. 1866. Hilaria cenchroides texana Vasey, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 1 : bTi. 1890. Hilaria iexana Nash, in Small, Fl. SBU. S. 68. 1903.
Stems up to 3 dm. tall, simple, often puberulent just below the inflorescence, the nodes barbed; leaf -sheaths glabrous or sparingly hirsute; blades commonly 2-6 cm. long, rarely exceeding 1 dm., 1-2.5 mm. wide, usually rough, glabrous or sparingly hirsute; inflorescence 1.5-3 cm. long; spikelet-clusters 5-6 mm. long, cuneate; empty scales of the lateral spikelets equaling or a little shorter than the cluster, the first scale unequally 2-lobed at the apex, 3-4-nerved, the midnerve excurrent as a rather long awn between the lobes, the remaining nerves vanishing below the apex, or the longest one sometimes shortly excurrent, the second scale when spread out one third as broad as long or less, 2-toothed at the apex, 4-nerved, the midnerve excurrent between the lobes as an awn about 0.5 mm. long, the remaining nerves vanishing below the obtuse apex; empty scales of the central spikelet 2-lobed to the middle, the hispid terete awn arising between the lobes, the margin of the lobes often bordered with a hispid nerve.
Type locality : Mexico.
Distribution : Central Texas to Arizona, south to Chihuahua and Sonera.

Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Stolons or runners present, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems caespitose, tufted, or clustered, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stem nodes bearded or hairy, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly basal, below middle of stem, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly open, or loose, Leaf sheath smooth, glabrous, Leaf sheath and blade differentiated, Leaf blades linear, Leaf blades very narrow or filiform, less than 2 mm wide, Leaf blades mostly flat, Leaf blade margins folded, involute, or conduplicate, Leaf blades mostly glabrous, Leaf blades scabrous, roughened, or wrinkled, Ligule present, Ligule an unfringed eciliate membrane, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fascicle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Inflorescence a panicle with narrowly racemose or spicate branches, Inflorescence with 2-10 branches, Inflorescence spikelets arranged in a terminal bilateral spike, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets sessile or subsessile, Spikelets laterally compressed, Spikelet less than 3 mm wide, Spikelets with 1 fertile floret, Spikelet with 1 fertile floret and 1-2 sterile florets, Spikelets 3 per node, Spikelets with 1 terminal fertile floret and 2 lateral staminate or sterile florets, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets unisexual, Spikelets falling with parts of disarticulating rachis or pedicel, Inflorescence branches deciduous, falling intact, Rachilla or pedicel glabrous, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 2 clearly present, Glumes equal or subequal, Glumes equal to or longer than adjacent lemma, Glumes awned, awn 1-5 mm or longer, Glumes keeled or winged, Glumes 4-7 nerved, Glumes prominently lobed, Lemmas thin, chartaceous, hyaline, cartilaginous, or membranous, Lemma coriaceous, firmer or thicker in texture than the glumes, Lemma 3 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma apex acute or ac uminate, Lemma apex dentate, 3-5 fid, Lemma teeth unequal. central tooth longer, Lemma awnless, Lemma mucronate, very shortly beaked or awned, less than 1-2 mm, Lemma margins thin, lying flat, Lemma straight, Palea present, well developed, Palea membranous, hyaline, Palea about equal to lemma, Stamens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis.

Hilaria belangeri is a species of grass known by the common name curly mesquite, sometimes written curlymesquite or curly-mesquite. It is not related to mesquites, which are legumes. This grass is native to Mexico and the southwestern United States from Arizona to Texas.

This perennial grass forms tufts of stems growing up to about 30 cm tall. It forms a sod. It spreads by stolons which extend along the ground and root to grow new tufts. The grass has been known to spread 4 m in one season. This is the main method of reproduction in the plant because it is often sterile and rarely forms seeds. One of the two varieties, H. b. var. longifolia, does not form stolons, however.

This grass grows in a number of southwestern habitat types, such as desert grasslands, woodlands, and shrubsteppe. It is a dominant species on some grasslands. It tolerates a wide variety of soils. It tolerates low levels of precipitation as it typical of deserts, but not necessarily drought, during which it goes dormant.

This is an important forage for animals in some local regions. In central and western Texas, it is the main forage for cattle. Cattle find it very palatable. Wild ungulates such as pronghorn and deer graze on it. The grass is tolerant of grazing pressure, and even overgrazing. In some areas, it is productive early in the season, but most of its productivity occurs after summer rainfall.

The growth of this grass is inhibited by the introduced African plant sweet resin bush (Euryops multifidus).