"Raphanus" wrote in message
oups.com...
Piedmont area of South Carolina. Xeric pine forest. This grass is a
real nuisance. Needle grass? Wire grass? Neither seem exactly right
but I'm new to this. What have I forgotten to include?

See photos at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/raphanus97/

Well, it sounds like you've seen a good example of a now rather
endangered natural habitat type. Is it something like

http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/gallery/d...e_grass049.jpg ?
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/reg...regrass_lg.jpg

Wiregrass isn't so much a "nuisance" as a characteristic and
important part of the longleaf pine/wiregrass savanna plant
community of the Southeast US, which is now largely lost or
destroyed [it's adapted to/dependent on frequent fires]:

http://www.fws.gov/carolinasandhills/longleaf.html
http://www.fws.gov/southeast/partners/pfwpine.html
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/cede_longleaf/2
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/fores...gleafalliance/

From
http://www.jonesctr.org/research/llp...storation.html :

"Three-awn wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana) is considered to be a
keystone species in the longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystem because of
its flammability, its role in facilitating fuel accumulation, its
cover for bird nesting, and its structural dominance of the ground
cover. The presence of wiregrass is often used to indicate relatively
undisturbed longleaf pine communities because wiregrass is not known
to re-establish dominance on previously cultivated sites and is less
vigorous without periodic fire disturbance.

The pines may in fact need the grass:
http://forestry.about.com/b/a/006455.htm

Even if not, other organisms might:
http://www.lakejacksonturtles.org/aresco/tortoise.html

cheers