About Digitaria californica (Benth.) Henrard
Digitaria californica (Benth.) Henrard is a species of grass commonly known as Arizona cottontop. It is native to the Americas, occurring in the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. This perennial grass grows as a clump of stems that can reach up to one meter in height. Its branching root system can extend one meter deep, and it does not produce rhizomes or stolons. The leaf sheaths surrounding the stems range from very hairy to woolly in texture. The leaves themselves are typically short and narrow. The inflorescence is a dense, narrow panicle that holds pairs of woolly-haired spikelets. This grass grows in a variety of habitat types, including desert scrub, shrublands, shrubsteppe, and savanna. In desert regions, it sometimes grows under mesquite trees, where it thrives on the local nutrient conditions. It tolerates a wide range of precipitation levels and survives drought easily by becoming dormant at times, then resuming rapid growth when rain returns. Most of its annual growth occurs in summer, after the combined spring and summer rain cycles. This species is a preferred forage grass for livestock such as cattle. It can tolerate high grazing activity, but cannot tolerate overgrazing.
