Barnyard Grass, Echinochloa muricata, is a native  summer annual found in every county in Illinois, typically in disturbed habitats or wetter  areas. The leaves are rather broad, and this grass is unique because it  does not have a ligule. Instead of a membrane or...

Beaked Panic Grass, Coleataenia anceps, is a  native warm season grass. It is mostly found in southern Illinois in disturbed, moist  habitats. It grows between two and four feet tall and its leaves are keeled, which  means it looks like the leaf blade and the...

Big Bluestem, Andropogon gerardii, is a native, warm season grass indicative of Illinois's tallgrass prairies. This robust bunchgrass often grows between five and eight feet tall. The stems of Big Bluestem are a bit flattened rather than perfectly round. ...

Bottlebrush Grass, Elymus hystrix, is a native, cool season grass that can be found in the woods. It grows between two and a half and five feet tall. Its leaves are often twisted where they join the stem so the underside of the leaf faces up, and they also droop at...

Broomsedge, Andropogon virginicus, is a native, warm season grass. This bunchgrass typically grows two to three feet tall. Broomsedge has flattened rather than round stems, and it has many leaves, resulting in a bushy appearance. This grass often, but not always, has hairy leaf blades...

Cheatgrass, Bromus tectorum, is a non-native winter or spring annual. It grows between one and three feet tall in disturbed, low-quality habitats. The leaf blades are covered with long, soft hairs.

When identifying this grass, look for its tall membranous ligule. The inflorescence is a...

Fowl Manna Grass, Glyceria striata, is a native, cool season grass found in every county in Illinois in forests and wetlands. It grows two to three feet tall and its smooth stems have just a few leaves along them. You can also find a tall, white membranous ligule in the collar region....

Gama Grass, Tripsacum dactyloides, is a native, warm season grass mostly found in the southern half of Illinois. It is a robust bunchgrass that grows in moist prairies, and this grass produces large bunches with flowering stalks that can grow up to seven feet tall. The leaves of...

Giant Cane, Arundinaria gigantea, is the only native woody grass found in Illinois. It was once widespread in canebreaks in southern Illinois, but has since declined in abundance due to habitat alteration. Giant Cane can often be found in colonies, since it spreads through rhizomes. The easiest...

Giant Foxtail, Setaria faberi, is a non-native summer annual that can be found in every county in Illinois. It grows in disturbed habitats and it will grow between two and four feet tall. Its leaves are broad and it has a ligule made up of long white hairs. Giant Foxtail blooms in the...

Indian Grass, Sorghastrum nutans, is a native, warm season grass of the tallgrass prairie. It is a robust bunchgrass that can grow between four and seven feet tall. Its stems are blue-green in color which can make it stand out from the surrounding foliage, and the leaves are over a foot...

Japanese Stiltgrass, Microstegium vimineum, is an invasive, warm season annual grass. It can be found in shady, moist environments like the understory of forests and along waterways, but it can also establish in sunnier and drier areas. It is a weak-stemmed grass with short, broad...

Johnson Grass, Sorghum halepense, is an invasive, warm season grass. It can be found in disturbed habitats in central and southern Illinois, and it can often be found in large patches since it spreads through rhizomes. This grass can grow four to seven feet tall. It has thick, glaucous stems,...

Nimblewill, Muhlenbergia schreberi, is a native, warm season grass typically found in slightly shaded, disturbed habitats and even in your lawn. This short grass typically stays under one foot tall, but it tends to sprawl over the ground and re-root from nodes along the stem. It has short leaves...

Orchard Grass, Dactylis glomerata, is a non-native cool season grass that grows in old fields, pastures, and disturbed areas. When identifying this grass, look for the open leaf sheath, as well as the tall membranous ligule. This ligule can range from white to yellow in color and what...

Panic Grass, Dichanthelium laxiflorum, is a native, cool season grass growing in southern Illinois and a few scattered counties in central Illinois. Panic Grass forms a short bunch, staying around six to eight inches tall. Its broad leaves and leaf sheaths are densely covered in long hairs. It...

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...

Purpletop, Tridens flavus, is a native, warm season grass that can be found in savannahs, fields, and roadsides, and grows three to five feet tall. Its stems, rachis, and spikelets are covered in a thin layer of an oily substance, leading to its other common name of Grease Grass. At the...

River Oats, Chasmanthium latifolium, is a native, cool season grass found in moist woods and along streams in large colonies. It is also a popular landscape grass. It typically grows two to four feet tall and it has wide leaf blades that taper to a point. There is also a short hairy...

Side Oats Grama, Bouteloua curtipendula, is a native, warm season grass found throughout Illinois. It is a bunchgrass that grows two to three feet tall, and the young leaves have a distinctive trait. Along the edges of the leaf blades look for small glands, each with a single hair on top of them...

Smooth Brome, Bromus inermis, is a non-native, cool season grass found throughout Illinois. It grows between two and four feet tall, and it produces rather weak, broad leaves that have an m-shaped crimp across the blades, which you can feel if you run the blade between your fingers. It...

Tall Fescue, Schedonorus arundinaceus, is a non-native, cool season grass found in fields, disturbed habitats, and planted as a lawn grass. Tall Fescue is a bunchgrass that grows two to five feet tall. Its leaves are stiff and sharply angled at the collar to be held about 90 degrees...

Timothy, Phleum pratense, is a non-native, cool season grass found in every county in Illinois. Used as a forage grass, it prefers growing in fields and other disturbed habitats. It grows two to four feet tall and its foliage has a gray to blue-green appearance. Its leaves are broad and...

Velvet Grass, Holcus lanatus, is a non-native cool season grass found in scattered counties in Illinois in moist, disturbed habitats. This grass grows three to four feet tall and its defining trait is its hairiness. Velvet Grass is densely covered in short, white, velvety hairs, giving...

Yellow Foxtail, Setaria pumila, is a non-native summer annual found across Illinois in disturbed habitats. It grows between one and three feet tall and its stem is a bit flattened. The leaf sheaths are keeled, looking like they have a crease from being folded in half. Sometimes you can...