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Glite Dictionary
🌾 A bushy grass 🐿️ A bushy tail
squirreltail

squirreltail

8.2
A grass with a long, bushy seed head that looks like a squirrel's tail
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : cola de ardilla
  • The late summer landscape was dotted with fluffy seed heads of squirreltail, giving the field a soft, bushy appearance.

Examples

  • Seed heads of various native grasses (left to right): western wheatgrass, Snake River wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, Great Basin wildrye, squirreltail, and green needlegrass.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Sand Hollow squirreltail may soon have a role in restoring burned-out sites at the unique Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area located about 35 miles south of Boise, Idaho.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Sand Hollow is the first squirreltail released for commercial production.

    Academic text (2000)

  • A perennial, squirreltail is known to botanists as Elymus elymoides.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Far left photo, geneticist Tom Jones and plant physiologist Doug Johnson (right) observe seed head maturity in a cultivated plot of squirreltail.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Jones and colleagues selected Sand Hollow from among squirreltails collected at sites in more than a half-dozen states, including California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

    Academic text (2000)

  • If selected to displace the troublesome cheatgrass, Sand Hollow squirreltail may help boost the survival of the Snake River Canyon's magnificent raptors.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Farmers are encouraged to plant squirreltail in areas recovering from wildfires due to its resilience.

  • The unique shape of the squirreltail grass makes it a popular choice for landscaping in arid regions.

Synonyms

squirreltail grass
vssquirreltail
  • Specialized
9.1

A grass with feathery flower heads and long silky hairs

is the same plant but has a bushy tail-like seed head instead of awns
squirreltail barley
vssquirreltail
  • Specialized
9.9

A grass with long soft feathery flower heads often grown to look nice

is a plant with a bushy tail-like seed head rather than silky awns

Compounds

squirreltail barley
  • Specialized
9.9

A grass with long soft feathery flower heads often grown to look nice

squirreltail grass
  • Specialized
9.1

A grass with feathery flower heads and long silky hairs

Surface Forms

squirreltail singular
squirreltails plural

Morphology

squirreltail = squirrel + tail (transparent) = squirrel + tail

The name directly describes a grass whose seed head looks like a squirrel's tail, so knowing 'squirrel' and 'tail' lets learners infer the meaning.

Etymology

Squirreltail comes from the animal name squirrel plus tail, because the grass has a long, bushy seed head that looks like a squirrel's tail, giving a clear picture to remember the plant.