Origin:
Native to Eurasia, but introduced as a forage crop and cultivation for hay. Now escaped and naturalized throughout most of North America.
Biology:
A perennial grass that forms clumps as tall as 3 feet, and has a somewhat swollen base. The flowering spike is very long, up to 4 inches long, and is a prolific producer of pollen, contributing to the misery of allergen sufferers.
Identification:
Mature plant with stems whitish and swollen at the base, and lacking hairs. Leaves are flat and tapering to a point. Leaf blades are around 1/3 inch wide and over 8 inches long, without hairs but with rough margins, especially near the base. The roots are fibrous, with short rhizomes and sometimes with short stolons. Flower head froms through mid-summer as a single, compact terminal spike on the very long stems. The panicle is stiff, bristly, and densely packed with short spikelets, that are flat and overlapping, an have short hairs and awns.
Characteristicts Important to Control:
Plants may persist into the winter, and dead flower stems will remain through the winter. Propagation is from seed, root material that has been tillered, or by short rhizomes and stolons.
