Temperate+Grasslands+Living+Things

__Plants__
(B1)Temperate grasslands, as the name implies, are mostly dominated by grass. Some grass species that live in this biome include **purple needlegrass** and **buffalo grass**. Trees and large shrubs are largely absent in temperate grasslands, due to factors like seasonal droughts, occasional fires, and large grazing by animals. But there are a few tree species that live in river valleys, like **cottonwood** and **oak**. (B2) **Purple needlegrass** (//Nassella pulchra//) is a member of the grass family. Each grass flower is made up of a pair of tiny bracts and the stamens and pistil. Due to these plants being wind-pollinated, they do not need showy-flowers to attract insects . (B2) //Nassella pulchra//, "Purple Needlegrass" (B3) //Bouteloua dactyloides,// "Buffalo Grass" (B4)The **cottonwood** (//Populus deltoids//) trees are massive shade trees native to North America. They can be recognized with their broad wide trunks with bright green leaves in the summer that changes into a bright yellow in the fall. (B6) //Populus deltoids,// "Cottonwood" (B5) **Oak** (//genus Querus//) are mostly deciduous trees with only a couple of evergreen forms. They are usually big in size, being able to reach about 70 feet in height and 9 feet in width. Furthermore, their branches can reach 135 feet in length. They also have leaves that can be lobed, serrated, or flat on the edges. Certain species have leaves with bristles. (B7) //genus Querus//, "Oak Tree"
 * (**B3**)Buffalo grass** (//Bouteloua dactyloides//) is a soft, gray-green or blue-green turf grass which grows 3-12 inches and spreads by rhizomes. This grass usually has curly leaf blades, slender stems, and compact seed heads.

__Animals__
(B8) **Bison** (herbivore) are massive creatures characterized by their long, shaggy brown coats that graze heavily on native grasses and disturb the soil, allowing plants and animals to flourish. They have poor eyesight, but have acute hearing and an excellent sense of smell. They are adapted to extreme weather conditions of the Great Plains, from summer heat to winter cold and blizzards. During winters, they dig their head deep into the snow to reach the vegetation below. These animals once dominated the North American landscape from the Appalachians to the Rockies, from the Gulf to Alaska. However, due to habitat loss and unregulated shooting, the bison slowly went from 20-30 million to just about 1091 by 1889. (B8) Bison (B9) **Gray Wolves** (carnivore) range in color from grizzled gray or black to all-white. As the ancestor of the domestic dog, the gray wolf resembles German shepherds or malamutes. Their diet largely consists of large hoofed animals, such as elk, deer, moose, and caribou, as well as beaver, rabbits, and other small prey. They are also scavengers and often eat animals that have died due to other causes. Gray wolves were once common throughout all of North America, but were exterminated mostly in the United States by the mid 1930s. Today, their range has been reduced to Canada, Alaska, the Great Lakes, northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest. Wolves play a key role in keeping the grasslands healthy. They keep herbivore populations in check, which is beneficial for many plant species. The carcasses of their prey also help redistribute nutrients and provide food for other wildlife species. //Canis// //lupus// (B10), "Gray wolf" (B11) **Swift foxes** (omnivores) are small foxes (usually the size of a domesticated cat) that lives in the western grasslands of North America, such as Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Their diet consists of rabbits, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, mice, birds, reptiles, amphibians, berries and seeds. This species is native to the Great Plains region of North America. They are named "swift" fox due to their speediness. Swift foxes are nocturnal, vocal and non-territorial, often spending their time underground. They are very sociable, but they tend to stay with one mate throughout their lifetime. Today, they can be seen in fragmented, smaller populations in portions of Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and New Mexico. (B12) //Vulpes velox,// "Swift Fox"

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