Poverty Oat Grass

Poverty Oat Grass, Danthonia spicata, is a cool-season bunchgrass native to Illinois and found throughout the state. It prefers higher quality bluff or glade habitats but can also be found growing along the edge of lawns. It prefers to grow in sandy or rocky soil.

Identifying characteristics

Poverty Oat Grass grows in bunches, which are often under a foot tall. The easiest identification characteristic is to look for tightly curled corkscrew shaped dead leaves gathered around the base of the bunch - and you can find these leaves year-round. If you take a closer look at the live, green leaves, they can be hairy or smooth, and you can find two tufts of hairs at the top of the leaf sheath.

When it flowers, this grass puts out a stem 1 to 2 feet tall, with a panicle inflorescence. There are only a few awned spikelets per branch and a small number of branches, so it’s easy to miss this grass in bloom.

While not the showiest grass, it can serve as a groundcover in rocky or sandy areas where other vegetation has a hard time growing.

clump of grass with dried curled leaves
Poverty Oat Grass has very distinctive, tightly curled dried leaves that make identifying this grass very easy.
clumps of dried corkscrew leaves on forest floor
Clumps of Poverty Oat Grass can be identified by the dried curled leaves.
hand holding grass blade back from stem
Although difficult to see without a hand lens, there are two tufts of hairs at the top of the leaf sheath.
hand holding grass inflorescence
Poverty Oat Grass has a panicle inflorescence, with only a few awned spikelets per branch and a small number of branches.
How to Identify Poverty Oat Grass

Poverty Oat Grass, Danthonia spicata, is a cool season bunchgrass native to Illinois and found throughout the state in higher quality habitats. Poverty Oat Grass grows in bunches which are often under a foot tall. The thin leaves can be smooth or hairy, and you can find two tufts of...