Taxon Report

Stipa arida M.E. Jones

Mormon needle grass

Print Report

Classification


Scientific Name:	Stipa arida M.E. Jones
Common Name:	Mormon needle grass
Family:	Poaceae
Element Code:	PMPOA5X010
USDA Plants Symbol:
Synonyms/Other Names:	Achnatherum aridum

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial herb
Blooming Period: May-Jul	May-Jul
Elevation:	500-2570 (1640-8430)
General Habitats:	Joshua tree "woodland", Pinyon and juniper woodland
Microhabitat:	Carbonate
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	2B.3
Global Rank:	G5
State Rank:	S3?
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:	SB_CalBG/RSABG; SB_USDA
CRPR Changes:	changed from 2.3 to 2B.3 on 2013-06-12

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	43
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	7
Fair (C)	1
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	35

Location


California Endemic: False
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Inyo (INY), Mono (MNO), San Bernardino (SBD)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Blackwater Mine (3511577), Clark Mtn. (3511555), Dry Mountain (3611785), Dyer (3711861), East of Echo Canyon (3611645), East of Waucoba Spring (3711717), Echo Canyon (3611646), Horse Thief Springs (3511578), Ivanpah (3511533), Ivanpah Lake (3511554), Jail Canyon (3611722), Joshua Flats (3711728), Kingston Peak (3511568), Last Chance Mtn. (3711736), Last Chance Range SE (3711715), Last Chance Range SW (3711716), Lee Wash (3611745), Mescal Range (3511545), Mesquite Lake (3511565), Mineral Hill (3511544), Nova Canyon (3611733), Pachalka Spring (3511556), Pinto Valley (3511523), Solomons Knob (3511547), State Line Pass (3511564), Stewart Valley (3611622), Teakettle Junction (3611775), Thimble Peak (3611771), White Top Mtn. (3611774), Wildrose Peak (3611731)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	6
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	9	21 %
Grazing	4	9%
Non-native plant impacts	4	9%
Mining	2	4%
Development	2	4%
ORV activity	1	2%
Road/trail construction/maint.	1	2%

Notes



See Phytologia 74(1):1-25 (1993) for revised nomenclature.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 6 January 2025].