Growing the state endemic, Oregon semaphoregrass (Pleuropogon oregonus)

The rare grass P. oregonus flowering in June 2022 from material propagated for introduction at the Burns Paiute Tribe Natural Resources (BPT DNR) greenhouse. Photo by Lori Ziegenhagen

A >10-y-old patch of introduced P. oregonus in flower in June 2022 (center of the photo, outlined in white: one-sided inflorescences) on Burns Paiute Tribe land in Logan Valley, eastern Oregon. Photo by Stella Copeland

Pleuropogon oregonus seeds (caryopses; scale is mm). Photo by Lori Ziegenhagen

Clonal expansion over several months from 14 January to 27 October 2019 in 2 tubs of P. oregonus at the BPT DNR greenhouse in Burns, Oregon. Photos by Carter Crouch

Clonal expansion from wild-collected tillers after 1 growing season in tubs located in greenhouses and outside the Burns Paiute Tribe Natural Resources Office. Note that tiller counts are approximate, as some tillers are lost when digging up and splitting clumps at collection and planting. Original tillers tend to senesce within months of planting, meaning that tillers counted after 1 y are likely to be new tillers. This means that the final number of tillers were 15.2, 14.3, and 14.0 times the original planted tillers for the 2018, 2019, and 2020 collection years, respectively.

Smaller clump of P. oregonus with most of the potting soil rinsed out. Note that the red stems are below the soil surface in grow-out conditions, and transplant clumps should be planted with the red stems buried. Photo by Carter Crouch

Smaller clumps of P. oregonus bagged up and ready to be placed in a cooler for transplant. Placing the clumps in a bag facing the same way limits damage to the vegetation and allows for more accurate counting of tillers while planting. Photo by Carter Crouch