Origin:
Native to the western United States.
Biology:
A summer annual capable of infesting most kinds of soils and situations, including row crops and orchards, roadsides and waste areas.
Identification:
Mature plant grows to 2 feet tall, with a wide, spreading base of many erect stems. Leaves are light green, narrow, an only 3 or 4 inches long. The sheath surrounding the stem at the base of the leaf has many long, soft, spreading white hairs, and the collar also has a fringe of long white hairs on either side. The flower head is very long and open, being up to half of the length of the overall plant. It is composed of numerous long branches, each of which has numerous shorter branches that bear the numerous flower clusters. No awns or bristles are present.
Characteristicts Important to Control:
An annual weed maturing in the summer.
