[Needlegrasses: The Genus Achnatherum in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]

Common Western Needlegrass

Achnatherum occidentale ssp. pubescens

Synonyms: Eriocoma occidentalis ssp. pubescens, Stipa elmeri, Stipa occidentalis var. pubescens

Common Western Needlegrass, Western Needlegrass: Achnatherum occidentale ssp. pubescens (Synonyms: Eriocoma occidentalis ssp. pubescens, Stipa elmeri, Stipa occidentalis var. pubescens) - Common Western Needlegrass, Western Needlegrass: Achnatherum occidentale ssp. pubescens (Synonyms: Eriocoma occidentalis ssp. pubescens, Stipa elmeri, Stipa occidentalis var. pubescens)

The photo at left shows the bent awn of common western needlegrass with the hairs on the awn gradually becoming shorter as one moves out along those 2 segments. Photo from a dry slope on the northern edge of Cold Springs Campground, Deschutes National Forest.....July 19, 2023. Common western needlegrass as seen at right on sandy slopes along the Vista Ridge ski run at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort, Mt. Hood National Forest..........July 18, 2017.

Common Western Needlegrass, Western Needlegrass: Achnatherum occidentale ssp. pubescens (Synonyms: Eriocoma occidentalis ssp. pubescens, Stipa elmeri, Stipa occidentalis var. pubescens) - Common Western Needlegrass, Western Needlegrass: Achnatherum occidentale ssp. pubescens (Synonyms: Eriocoma occidentalis ssp. pubescens, Stipa elmeri, Stipa occidentalis var. pubescens)

Close-ups of the inflorescence of common western needlegrass as seen on sandy slopes along the Vista Ridge ski run at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort, Mt. Hood National Forest..........July 18, 2017. Note the numerous spreading hairs on the first several segments of the awns.
Paul Slichter