Nassella viridula
Green Needlegrass

  • Trail- or road-side plants can be very robust (Stipa viridula forms the large clump at center).

Nassella viridula
Green Needlegrass

Nassella viridula, Green Needlegrass
(old nomenclature: Stipa viridula) (Native)

Medium height, 1½ – 3 ft. tall, long-lived, cool-season, bunchgrass.  Best adapted to clay textures but does grow on medium to coarse textures.  Fair to good drought- tolerance, fair salt and alkali-tolerance, winter-hardy.  Good forage yield and quite palatable while green.  Moderately tolerant to grazing.  Valuable for rangeland and pasture improvement, reclamation and soil stabilization of disturbed sites.  Minimum precip. is 12 – 14 inches.  Plant in fall ¼ – ½ inch deep. 180,000 seeds/lb.

Named Release: ‘Lodorm(Cultivar) Released in 1978 by SCS and TX AES. Original source was from E. TX plains. Selected over other accessions for better forage value, seed production and to perform better at more southern latitude of its species range.

USDA: Plant Profile | Plant Guide