Grass Description
Grows on rocky slopes, at the margins of woods, along roadsides, and in waste ground.
General Description
A vigorous-growing bunchgrass with abundant leaves coming from a coarse, dense, basal crown, 2 to 5 feet tall with droopy seedheads. This grass can outcompete natives and become a monoculture.
Perennial; seedhead is lead-colored, branches slender, drooping; lemmas less than 1/16 inch, lateral nerves prominent. Blades taper to fine hair-like brownish threads. Collar hairy.
Flower Characteristics
Seedhead is 10 to 16 inches long, branches 3 to 6 inches long. Branches not bearing spikelets near the bases. Lower axils of the seedhead stem are hairy. Stems of spikelets much shorter than spikelets. Lemma 3-nerved, lateral nerve may be inconspicuous.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blades 24 to 48 inches long, drooping, slender, tapering to fine hair-like brownish threads. Bases of the densely clustered young leaves are purplish.
Fair.