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Grasses at a Glance

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brown inflorescence of wood reed

Identifying Wood Reed, a native warm-season grass

Warm-season grasses are in full bloom right now, putting on their fall display. If you go on a hike in the woods, you might find Wood Reed, Cinna arundinacea. Wood Reed is a native warm-season grass that grows in semi-shaded woodland areas. It can be found in nearly every county in the...
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two clumps of grass in a pollinator garden

Role of grasses in a pollinator garden

A year ago my family moved. As a gardener, I was looking for a house with a big yard with lots of potential to plant huge gardens. We found a home with almost a blank slate of a yard – after spending a few weeks removing invasive trees and shrubs we were ready to establish landscape beds and get...
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landscape view of a wetland with cattails and bluejoint grass

Bluejoint Grass, a grass for wetter soils

About a month ago I was in the Chicago region for a conference, and I took the opportunity to stop by Volo Bog. If you’ve never been, this unique spot is home to an open-water quaking bog, which you can see if you hike the boardwalk loop. While hiking I found some clumps of Bluejoint Grass, which...
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patch of grass with arching leaves

Beakgrass, a grass for the shade garden

The first time I saw Beakgrass was at the Missouri Botanic Garden in a parking median. I was struck by the attractive mass of this grass, which was bowed to one side from the weight of its seed heads. I mentally filed this grass away as one that I wanted to make sure I added to my landscape one day...
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barnyard grass in bloom with trees in the background

Identifying Barnyard Grass

As someone who learned grass identification in Midwest prairies, I don’t often focus a lot of time on grasses that grow in the woods or wetlands. But today I wanted to highlight a grass found in wetter sites that serves as a great food source for ducks and other waterfowl. It’s an annual grass that...
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clump of johnsongrass in bloom with red seed heads

A closer look at Johnsongrass, a challenging invasive grass

Summer is here, which brings a very busy programming schedule. In the past few weeks I’ve driven across the five counties I work in to deliver youth programs at local libraries. A lot of time on the road means I’m paying more attention to what’s growing on our roadsides. Last week the grass I saw...
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clump of Junegrass in a forest with trees in the background

Welcome June with Junegrass

When we think of prairie grasses, often the tallest grasses come to mind, like Big Bluestem, Indiangrass, and Switchgrass. But that doesn't mean there aren't shorter grasses growing in our prairies too.A lesser known prairie grass is Junegrass, and since we are now in the month of June, it’s only...
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spikes of pink flowers surrounded by grass in a prairie

Get ready to celebrate National Prairie Day on June 1

The first Saturday in June is recognized as National Prairie Day. Prairies hold a special place in my heart, since my work in prairies jumpstarted my love of plants and eventual path to graduate school and my current job. I’ll never forget my environmental studies class in college when we...
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flower of bulbous bluegrass held in a hand

Watch out for Bulbous Bluegrass, a weedy grass

While hiking through an open woodland, I saw a grass that looked different from any other I’ve seen before. I bent down and snapped some pictures, using iNaturalist to check for a quick identification. I was disheartened to see that it was yet another non-native, weedy grass. This one is called...
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clump of grass with dried curled leaves

Identifying Poverty Oat Grass

I love when plant identification is easy, when there’s one distinctive characteristic that makes a plant stand out from others around it, leaving no doubt what plant I’m looking at. It’s even better when that characteristic sticks around all year long, making the plant identifiable no matter the...
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