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| ## NEEDLE-And-Thread {#needle-and-thread .Title-Header}               |
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| *Hesperostipa* *comata*                                               |
|                                                                       |
| (Trin. & Rupr.) Barkworth                                             |
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| Plant Symbol = HECO26                                                 |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS Idaho State Office

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="3.0145833333333334in"
height="3.563888888888889in"}

©W.L. Wagner. Courtesy of [Smithsonian Institution, Dept. of Systematic
Biology, Botany](http://www.nmnh.si.edu/botany/).

##### Alternate Names {#alternate-names .Header-3}

*Stipa comata;* spear-grass

##### Uses {#uses .Header-3}

[Grazing/Livestock]{.underline}- Needle-and-Thread begins growth early
in the spring, goes dormant in early to mid-summer and may green-up in
fall if soil moisture is adequate. It is considered good forage in
spring prior to awn development and again in fall after seed is dropped.
When grazed while awned seeds are present, the sharp-pointed seed may
injure livestock by working into tongue, throat, eyes and ears.

[Wildlife]{.underline}- It is desirable forage for elk in winter and
spring and considered desirable forage for deer in spring.

[Erosion Control/Reclamation]{.underline}- It is a very effective grass
in preventing wind erosion on sandy soils. It is one of the first
grasses to naturally establish in disturbed sandy sites. It can be used
in seeding mixtures for revegetation of sandy sites and sites disturbed
by mining activities.

##### Status {#status .Header-3}

Consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species).

#####  {#section .Header-3}

##### Description {#description .Header-3}

[Genera]{.underline}*l*: Needle-and-Thread is a native, tufted,
cool-season grass common to the prairies, plains and foothills of the
western United States. It is a perennial bunchgrass, 1- 4 feet tall with
erect, smooth culms and long, flat leaves 8- 12 inches long. The
inflorescence is a contracted panicle that remains partially in the
sheath. The source of its name is the 4- 5 inch long twisted awn which
arises from the lemma. It detaches from the inflorescence with the seed
and gives the appearance of a short needle and long thread. The ligule,
an identifying characteristic, is membranous and split.

[Distribution]{.underline}: This grass is found from British Columbia
and the Yukon to Ontario, south to California, New Mexico and Texas.

[Habitat]{.underline}: Needle-and-Thread is an important plant in a wide
variety of plant communities throughout western Canada and the United
States. It can be found in the Palouse region of Idaho, Oregon and
Washington and mountain foothills of British Columbia, Alberta, Idaho,
Montana, Oregon and Washington associated with bluebunch wheatgrass,
Idaho fescue, and bluegrass plant communities. In the northern Great
Plains it is found in association with western wheatgrass, blue grama
and bluebunch wheatgrass plant communities. In the central Great Plains
it can be found in bluestem, gramagrass and prairie sandreed plant
communities. In the arid regions of Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and
Wyoming it is found in association with sagebrush, saltbush, horsebrush,
bitterbrush, winterfat, Sandberg bluegrass, Indian ricegrass, and
thickspike wheatgrass plant communities. This species is a fairly early
vegetative component on sand dunes in the intermountain region. On sand
dune soils in southern Idaho, it follows the establishment of yellow
wildrye and scurf pea and establishes before Indian ricegrass and
thickspike wheatgrass.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="1.8423611111111111in"
height="3.6243055555555554in"}

Intermountain Flora - drawn by Jeanne R. Janish.

University of Washington Press.

##### Adaptation {#adaptation .Header-3}

Needle-and-Thread is very drought tolerant and prefers excessively
drained sands to fine sandy loams to coarse gravelly loam soils, but is
also found on loam to clay loam soils in some habitats. It is most
commonly found in 7- 16 inch precipitation zones, but occasionally is
found in areas receiving as low as 5- inches to as much as 24- inches
mean annual precipitation.

Its elevation range is most common from 3500 to 8500 feet, but it has
been found at elevations as low as 1000 feet.

##### Establishment {#establishment .Header-3}

This species has fairly high levels of seed dormancy. If seed is less
than 2- years old, it should be planted in late fall as a dormant
planting to assist with breaking the seed dormancy. Older seed can be
planted in early spring. Seed should be planted about ¾- inch deep on
loamy soils, about ½- inch deep on clay soils and up to 1- inch deep on
sandy soils.

Short prechill treatments (30 to 60 days) can induce a secondary
dormancy, reducing seed germination (Scianna 2005). Tests show that seed
with no prechill or 120 days prechill readily germinate, but seed
prechilled 30 to 60 days had reduced germination of 37 and 68%
respectively. Based on this study dormant fall planting or late spring
planting will produce the best stands.

Because of its broad range of adaptation, native seed mixtures should
specify \"Source Identified\" seed from locations within 500 miles of
the planting site. Great Plains collections and Intermountain West
collections do best within their own ecoregions.

There is an average of 115,000 seeds per pound. The recommend full
seeding rate is 6 pounds PLS per acre. Seeding mixtures should specify a
percentage of this rate.

##### Management {#management .Header-3}

Needle-and-Thread begins growth in early spring, flowers in June and
matures seed in July, goes dormant in early to mid-summer and may
green-up in fall if soil moisture is adequate.

It is considered good forage in spring prior to awn development and
again in fall after seed is dropped. When grazed while awned seeds are
present, the sharp-pointed seed may injure livestock by working into
tongue, throat, eyes, ears and hide. It cures well and provides fair to
good winter forage.

It generally increases under grazing except in sandy soils and the
central Great Plains where it decreases under grazing pressure. It needs
to set seed in order to establish new plants, thus deferred rotation
grazing systems are recommended.

##### Pests and Potential Problems {#pests-and-potential-problems .Header-3}

It is not known to be vulnerable to insects or other pests.

##### Environmental Concerns {#environmental-concerns .Header-3}

Needle-and-Thread is a native species which spreads via seed. It is not
considered to be \"weedy\" or an invasive species, but it can spread
into adjoining vegetative communities under ideal climatic and
environmental conditions. Its rate of spread is slow.

Needle-and-Thread is known to hybridize with closely related species,
Indian ricegrass. These hybrids are sterile.

##### Seed Production {#seed-production .Header-3}

Seed production of Needle-and-Thread has been somewhat successful under
cultivated conditions.

Row spacing of 24- 36 inches under irrigation or high precipitation
(\>16 inches annual precipitation) to 36- 48 inches under dryland
conditions are recommended. Seeding rates for seed production range from
2.9- 4.3 (48- 36 inch rows) pound PLS per acre on dryland to 4.3- 5.7
(36- 24 inch rows) pound PLS per acre under irrigated conditions.

It should be seeded in locations where weeds are well controlled.
Needle-and-Thread seedlings are slow to establish and are therefore
vulnerable to mechanical (wheel and foot traffic) and chemical damage.
Wait until the 3- 5 leaf stage before applying herbicides at a low rate
(bromoxynil according to label) or clipping for weed control.
Cultivation between rows will be needed for weed control and to maintain
row culture.

Seed fields are productive for about 3- 4 years. Field moisture during
the fall, soil fertility, and plant re-growth determine the yield the
succeeding year.

Average production of 100 pounds per acre can be expected under dryland
conditions in 16- inch plus rainfall areas. Average production of 150
pounds per acre can be expected under irrigated conditions.

Harvesting can be completed by direct combining in the hard-dough stage
(seed turning brown) or by windrowing followed by combining. Windrowing
may help ensure a more complete threshing. Windrowing also reduces the
risk of loss of seed from wind. Seed is generally harvested from late
July to late August. Seed must be dried immediately after combining
(moisture content should be 12 percent in bins/15 percent in sacks).
Brush-type seed strippers work well in harvesting seed of this species,
as the long twisted awns of the mature seed are readily pulled into the
hopper, leaving the immature straight awned seed in the inflorescence.
Stripping seed must be immediately dried.

Seed should be stored in plastic woven sacks -- not cotton or burlap
sacks. Sharp seeds will become caught in cotton and burlap fabric. Awn
should be removed as soon after harvest as possible or it becomes
intertwined with other seed making seed processing very difficult.

Because of the difficulty in harvesting and conditioning, the forage can
be harvested at time of seed maturity and the baled forage used as mulch
on planting sites. Shattered seed will naturally plant itself when
changes in relative humidity cause the awn to twist, driving the seed
into the soil surface.

#####  {#section-1 .Header-3}

##### Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials {#cultivars-improved-and-selected-materials .Header-3}

No releases are presently available. Contact your local Natural
Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service)
office for more information. Look in the phone book under "United States
Government." The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed
under the subheading "Department of Agriculture."

##### References {#references .Header-3}

Alderson, J. and W. C. Sharp. 1994. *Grass varieties in the United
States.* Agriculture Handbook No. 170. USDA, SCS, Washington, DC.

Cronquist, A., A.H. Holmgren, N.H. Holmgren and J.L. Reveal. 1977.
*Intermountain Flora: Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West*, U.S.A.
The New York Botanical Garden.

Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950. *Manual of the grasses of the
United States*. USDA Misc. Publ. No. 200. Washington, DC. 1950.

Ogle, D. G., L. St. John, M. Stannard and L. Holzworth. 2006. Technical
Note 24: *Grass, grass-like, forb, legume, and woody species for the
intermountain west*. USDA-NRCS, Boise, ID. 42p.

Scianna, J.S. 2005. Needlegrass Dormancy Study. In USDA-NRCS Bridger PMC
Annual Technical report 2004-2005. Bridger, MT.

Smith, R., S. Smith, R. Haas, and L. Holzworth. 1998. *Native Grass Seed
Production Manual,* USDA-NRCS, Bismarck, ND and Ducks Unlimited Canada.
155 p.

USDA, NRCS. 2006. The PLANTS Database, Version 061010.
[(http://plants.usda.gov)](http://plants.usda.gov/). [National Plant
Data Center](http://npdc.usda.gov/npdc/index.html), Baton Rouge, LA
70874-4490 USA.

#####  {#section-2 .Header-3}

##### Prepared By {#prepared-by .Header-3}

*Daniel G. Ogle*

USDA-NRCS, Idaho State Office, Boise, ID

*Mark Majerus*

USDA-NRCS, Plant Materials Center, Bridger, MT

*Loren St. John*

USDA-NRCS, Plant Materials Center, Aberdeen, ID

*Derek Tilley*

USDA-NRCS, Plant Materials Center, Aberdeen, ID

*Dr. Thomas A. Jones*

USDA-ARS, Forage & Range Research Laboratory, Logan, UT

##### Species Coordinator {#species-coordinator .Header-3}

*Daniel G. Ogle*

USDA-NRCS, Idaho State Office, Boise, ID

##### Edited: 05oct06dgo; 09maydjt; 11may06ls; 05june06mm; 05june06taj; 10oct06jsp {#edited-05oct06dgo-09maydjt-11may06ls-05june06mm-05june06taj-10oct06jsp .Header-4}

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

*The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in
all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
TDD).*

*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.*

*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
Service](http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/civilrights/).*