Known for its long, nodding seed spikes with bristly awns, giving it a soft, flowing look in the breeze.
Seeds provide food for songbirds and small mammals, while dense foliage gives cover for ground-nesting birds and insects.
Indigenous people used the seeds for food and the stems for brooms, mats, and thatching.
With its arching, feathery heads, it is sometimes used in landscaping and floral arrangements for texture and movement.
Known for its long, nodding seed spikes with bristly awns, giving it a soft, flowing look in the breeze.
Seeds provide food for songbirds and small mammals, while dense foliage gives cover for ground-nesting birds and insects.
Indigenous people used the seeds for food and the stems for brooms, mats, and thatching.
With its arching, feathery heads, it is sometimes used in landscaping and floral arrangements for texture and movement.
Bloom: mid- to late summer
Habitats: black soil prairies and sand prairies; dunes along Lake Michigan; fallow fields; gravelly areas along railroads; limestone glades; riverbanks in sunny areas; thinly-wooded rocky bluffs; typical savannas and sandy savannas
Lifespan: perennial
Moisture: moist to dry
Plant type (height): grass (3 to 5 feet)
Requirements: full sun to partial sun
Soil: clay; loam; gravel; sand
