
NPS Graphic
Species: Pascopyrum smithii (Agropyron smithii)
Common name: western wheatgrass
Vegetative identification: Emerges green with a very narrow spindly leaf, and gradually turns the distinctive blue-green color. The prominent veins and claw-like auricles are visible fairly early in growth. Seedlings are sometimes purplish or brown at the base and the emerging leaf often forms a corkscrew shape.