Black grama grass under the microscope; anatomical festures of a native palnt from southwestern United States

TitleBlack grama grass under the microscope; anatomical festures of a native palnt from southwestern United States
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication2003
AuthorsO'Donnell B., Kersey S., Gallegos L., Barrow J.R., Ghoshroy S.
Conference NameMicroscopy and Microanalysis
Date Published2003
ARIS Log Number204816
KeywordsArizona, black grama, grass, native, New Mexico
AbstractBlack grama grass (Bouteloua eriopoda) is a perennial desert grass native to the arid Southwestern United States. It is most common in the Chihuahuan Desert, occupying large areas of New Mexico and Arizona, where occurrence of drought conditions are high. Black grama tends to grow in sandy loam soils low in organic matter. However, it contains one of the highest protein contents of any desert grass, thus offering very nutritious forage for livestock and wildlife. Due to its bunchgrass-like nature, black grama aids in reducing soil erosion from rainfall. Some drought tolerance adaptive features include a root system that extends four or more feet into the soil and a small leaf blade size (2mm wide). Unfortunately, abundance of black grama is being greatly reduced by factors such as overgrazing and invasion of Honey mesquite plants. Due to the importance of black grama grass and its easily observable adaptive features, we investigated its cellular structures to find more specialized components of this plant that allow it to survive in drought conditions.
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