Blue Thumb

Blue Thumb
  • About
    • Why Plant for Clean Water?
    • About Blue Thumb
    • Become a Blue Thumb Partner
    • Environmental Justice Hub
    • Green Workforce: Sustainable Landcare Training
    • Blog
    • Support Blue Thumb
  • Projects for Your Yard
    • Native Plant Gardens
    • Raingardens
    • Shoreline Stabilization
    • Turf Alternatives
  • Lawns to Legumes
    • Lawns to Legumes: Individual Support
    • Apply for Assistance
    • Map Your Pollinator Project
    • Grantee Information
    • Coaching Information
  • Plant Finder
  • Workshops & Events
  • Find Help
    • Blue Thumb Partners
    • Find Grants
    • Blue Thumb Job Board
    • Resources
Search

Find Plants:

Grass

View as: Gallery Table

  • Upland Bentgrass
    Agrostis perennans

    Upland Bentgrass
    Agrostis perennans

  • Pearly Everlasting
    Anaphalis margaritacea

    Pearly Everlasting
    Anaphalis margaritacea

  • Big Bluestem
    Andropogon gerardii

    Big Bluestem
    Andropogon gerardii

  • Side Oats Grama
    Bouteloua curtipendula

    Side Oats Grama
    Bouteloua curtipendula

  • Blue Grama
    Bouteloua gracilis

    Blue Grama
    Bouteloua gracilis

  • Kalm's Brome
    Bromus kalmii

    Kalm's Brome
    Bromus kalmii

  • Blue-joint Grass
    Calamagrostis canadensis

    Blue-joint Grass
    Calamagrostis canadensis

  • Bebbs Sedge
    Carex bebbii

    Bebbs Sedge
    Carex bebbii

  • Bottlebrush Sedge
    Carex comosa

    Bottlebrush Sedge
    Carex comosa

  • Fringed Sedge
    Carex crinita

    Fringed Sedge
    Carex crinita

  • Porcupine Sedge
    Carex hystericina

    Porcupine Sedge
    Carex hystericina

  • Lake Sedge
    Carex lacustris

    Lake Sedge
    Carex lacustris

  • Sand Sedge
    Carex muhlenbergii

    Sand Sedge
    Carex muhlenbergii

  • Pennsylvania sedge
    Carex pensylvanica

    Pennsylvania sedge
    Carex pensylvanica

  • Long Beaked Sedge
    Carex sprengelii

    Long Beaked Sedge
    Carex sprengelii

  • Upright Sedge
    Carex stricta Lam

    Upright Sedge
    Carex stricta Lam

  • Northwest Territory Sedge
    Carex utriculata

    Northwest Territory Sedge
    Carex utriculata

  • Fox Sedge
    Carex vulpinoidea

    Fox Sedge
    Carex vulpinoidea

  • Umbrella Flatsedge
    Cyperus diandrus

    Umbrella Flatsedge
    Cyperus diandrus

  • Spike Rush
    Eleocharis acicularis

    Spike Rush
    Eleocharis acicularis

  • Canada Wild Rye
    Elymus canadensis

    Canada Wild Rye
    Elymus canadensis

  • Bottlebrush Grass
    Elymus hystrix

    Bottlebrush Grass
    Elymus hystrix

  • Quackgrass
    Elymus repens

    Quackgrass
    Elymus repens

  • Silky Wildrye
    Elymus villosus

    Silky Wildrye
    Elymus villosus

  • Virginia Wildrye
    Elymus virginicus

    Virginia Wildrye
    Elymus virginicus

  • Variegated Scouringrush
    Equisetum variegatum

    Variegated Scouringrush
    Equisetum variegatum

  • Sand Lovegrass
    Eragrostis trichodes

    Sand Lovegrass
    Eragrostis trichodes

  • Cotton Grass
    Eriophorum angustifolium

    Cotton Grass
    Eriophorum angustifolium

  • Sweet Grass
    Hierochloe odorata

    Sweet Grass
    Hierochloe odorata

  • Soft Rush
    Juncus effusus

    Soft Rush
    Juncus effusus

  • Path Rush
    Juncus tenuis

    Path Rush
    Juncus tenuis

  • Torrey's Rush
    Juncus torreyi

    Torrey's Rush
    Juncus torreyi

  • June Grass
    Koeleria macrantha

    June Grass
    Koeleria macrantha

  • Snowy Wood Rush
    Luzula nivea

    Snowy Wood Rush
    Luzula nivea

  • Variegated Moorgrass
    Molinia caerulea

    Variegated Moorgrass
    Molinia caerulea

  • Scribner's Panicgrass
    Panicum oligosanthes

    Scribner's Panicgrass
    Panicum oligosanthes

  • Switchgrass
    Panicum virgatum

    Switchgrass
    Panicum virgatum

  • Sandberg Bluegrass
    Poa secunda J. Presl

    Sandberg Bluegrass
    Poa secunda J. Presl

  • Little Bluestem
    Schizachyrium scoparium

    Little Bluestem
    Schizachyrium scoparium

  • Hardstem Bulrush
    Scirpus acutus

    Hardstem Bulrush
    Scirpus acutus

  • Green Bulrush
    Scirpus atrovirens

    Green Bulrush
    Scirpus atrovirens

  • Woolgrass
    Scirpus cyperinus

    Woolgrass
    Scirpus cyperinus

  • River Bulrush
    Scirpus fluviatilis

    River Bulrush
    Scirpus fluviatilis

  • Three-squared Bulrush
    Scirpus pungens

    Three-squared Bulrush
    Scirpus pungens

  • Softstem Bulrush
    Scirpus validus

    Softstem Bulrush
    Scirpus validus

  • Indian Grass
    Sorghastrum nutans

    Indian Grass
    Sorghastrum nutans

  • Broadfruit Bur-Reed
    Sparganium eurycarpum

    Broadfruit Bur-Reed
    Sparganium eurycarpum

  • Prairie Cordgrass
    Spartina pectinata

    Prairie Cordgrass
    Spartina pectinata

  • Prairie Dropseed
    Sporobolus heterolepis

    Prairie Dropseed
    Sporobolus heterolepis
Name Type Light Exposure Soil Moisture Height Bloom Color Bloom Months   Notes/Description
Upland Bentgrass
Agrostis perennans
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Wet
 1 to 2 feet
Bloom Color:
Green
Bloom Months:
July, August, September
 USDA Info This is a perennial grass about ½–2½' tall that develops either individually or in loose tufts of unbranched leafy culms. In sunny habitats with fertile soil, this grass is taller and more stout, while in shaded habitats with poor soil it is shorter and more delicate. The culms are light green, terete, slender, and glabrous. The longer blades of lower leaves have a tendency to droop, while the shorter blades of upper leaves are more stiff and straight. The leaf blades are 1-6 mm. across and 2-10 inches long; they are medium green or grayish green, flat, and hairless. The leaf sheaths are medium green or grayish green, hairless, and open.
Pearly Everlasting
Anaphalis margaritacea
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 1 to 3 feet USDA Info
Big Bluestem
Andropogon gerardii
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Mixed Sun and Shade, Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 6 feet
Bloom Color:
Brown, Red
Bloom Months:
July, August, September
 USDA Info
Side Oats Grama
Bouteloua curtipendula
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 3 feet
Bloom Months:
July, October
 USDA Info
Blue Grama
Bouteloua gracilis
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 1 foot
Bloom Months:
July, August, September
 USDA Info
Kalm's Brome
Bromus kalmii
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 3 feet
Bloom Color:
Green
Bloom Months:
July, August, September
 USDA Info A native brome with attractive drooping seed heads.
Blue-joint Grass
Calamagrostis canadensis
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 4 feet
Bloom Months:
August, September
 USDA Info
Bebbs Sedge
Carex bebbii
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 1 foot
Bloom Months:
May, June
 USDA Info
Bottlebrush Sedge
Carex comosa
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium, Wet
 2 to 3 feet
Bloom Months:
May, June
 USDA Info
Fringed Sedge
Carex crinita
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun, Shade, Mixed Sun and Shade
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 3 feet USDA Info
Porcupine Sedge
Carex hystericina
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Wet
 3 feet USDA Info
Lake Sedge
Carex lacustris
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun, Mixed Sun and Shade
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 3 feet
Bloom Months:
June, July, August, September
 USDA Info Readily spreads by underground roots and therefore makes a good shoreline stabilizer.
Sand Sedge
Carex muhlenbergii
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun, Mixed Sun and Shade
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 1 to 2 feet
Bloom Months:
May, June
 USDA Info
Pennsylvania sedge
Carex pensylvanica
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun, Mixed Sun and Shade, Shade
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 9 inches USDA Info
Long Beaked Sedge
Carex sprengelii
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Shade, Mixed Sun and Shade
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 1 to 2 feet USDA Info
Upright Sedge
Carex stricta Lam
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 1 to 3 feet
Bloom Color:
Green, Blue, Orange
Bloom Months:
June, July, August, September
 USDA Info A slender, 1-3 ft. grass-like plant with a cluster of brown seed capsules clinging high on the stem. Stems bearing greenish or brownish spikes of inconspicuous flowers above dense tufts of grass-like leaves. Green leaves are exceeded by the stem in height. Forms large tufts or hummocks to 3 ft. wide.The easiest way to recognize this sedge is by its distinctive, elevated tussocks (dense tufts) in open wet areas. It grows abundantly, often in seasonally flooded sites.
Northwest Territory Sedge
Carex utriculata
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Wet
 3 to 4 feet
Bloom Months:
June, July, August
 USDA Info
Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun, Mixed Sun and Shade
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 2 feet
Bloom Months:
May, June
 USDA Info
Umbrella Flatsedge
Cyperus diandrus
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Wet
 1 to 2 feet
Bloom Color:
Yellow
Bloom Months:
June, July, August
 USDA Info Umbrella flat sedge is an ornamental grass often seen at the edges of rivers and ponds. It is a warm season perennial and grows best in USDA zones 8 to 11. The plant may become invasive in some areas, so it is important to become familiar with the plant and recognize its characteristics before adding it to your garden area.
Spike Rush
Eleocharis acicularis
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 6 inches
Bloom Months:
July
 USDA Info
Canada Wild Rye
Elymus canadensis
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Mixed Sun and Shade, Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 4 feet
Bloom Months:
August, September, October
 USDA Info
Bottlebrush Grass
Elymus hystrix
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Shade, Sun, Mixed Sun and Shade
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 4 feet
Bloom Color:
Green
Bloom Months:
May, June
 USDA Info Lovely curved seed heads. Readily reseeds.
Quackgrass
Elymus repens
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 1 to 3 feet
Bloom Color:
Yellow
Bloom Months:
June, July, August
 USDA Info Quackgrass is a native of Europe, but has spread throughout the northern temperate zones of the world. It is primarily found in the northern portion of the U.S., and is common throughout Ohio. Quackgrass is a creeping, sod-forming perennial grass, characterized by its straw-colored, sharp-tipped rhizomes (horizontal underground stems) and the pair of whitish-green to reddish, claw-like structures (auricles) that clasp the stem at the top of the sheath. It reproduces through seed and creeping rhizomes. This species can form large patches.
Silky Wildrye
Elymus villosus
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Mixed Sun and Shade, Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 3 feet
Bloom Months:
August, September, October
 USDA Info
Virginia Wildrye
Elymus virginicus
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Mixed Sun and Shade, Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 3 to 4 feet
Bloom Months:
August, September, October
 USDA Info
Variegated Scouringrush
Equisetum variegatum
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 6 to 18 inches
Bloom Color:
Green
 USDA Info Variegated Scouring Rush is one of three similar, erect, unbranched Equisetum species in Minnesota, the others are Smooth Scouring Rush (E. laevigatum) and Tall Scouring Rush (E. hyemale). Equisetum variegatum can be identified by the distinct, persistent teeth that are black with white edges. These teeth are most similar to Dwarf Scouring Rush (E. scirpoides) but that species is less than 8 inches tall and has curling/twisted stems.
Sand Lovegrass
Eragrostis trichodes
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 2 to 4 feet
Bloom Color:
Purple, Orange
Bloom Months:
June, July, August, September
 USDA Info Sand lovegrass is a native, warm-season, short-lived, leafy, perennial bunchgrass which reaches mature heights from 2.5 to 4 feet with a shallow, wide spreading root system. Sand Lovegrass grows best on sandy soils with an annual precipitation of 18 to 36 inches. Sand Lovegrass typically greens up two weeks earlier than most of the other native grasses and is very palatable. When overgrazed, it will decrease relative to other grasses. Seeding rates are very low due to extremely small dark round seed it produces. Sand Lovegrass is commonly found as a component in native areas along with hairy grama, western wheatgrass, and sand dropseed.
Cotton Grass
Eriophorum angustifolium
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 2 feet
Bloom Color:
White
Bloom Months:
May, June
 USDA Info
Sweet Grass
Hierochloe odorata
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Mixed Sun and Shade, Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 2 feet USDA Info
Soft Rush
Juncus effusus
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Mixed Sun and Shade, Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 3 feet
Bloom Months:
August, September, October
 USDA Info
Path Rush
Juncus tenuis
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 1 foot
Bloom Months:
May, June, July, August, September, October
 USDA Info
Torrey's Rush
Juncus torreyi
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 1 foot
Bloom Months:
May, June, July, August, September, October
 USDA Info
June Grass
Koeleria macrantha
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 1 to 2 feet
Bloom Color:
Green
Bloom Months:
May, June, July, August
 USDA Info June grass thrives on dry, well-drained/sandy soils. It is one of the few cool season native grasses, greening up in May with pale green ornamental flowering stalks in June. By mid-summer, the stalks turn tan and remain attractive throughout the growing season.
Snowy Wood Rush
Luzula nivea
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Mixed Sun and Shade, Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 3 feet
Bloom Months:
May, June
 USDA Info
Variegated Moorgrass
Molinia caerulea
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 1 to 2 feet
Bloom Months:
May, June, July, August, September, October
 USDA Info
Scribner's Panicgrass
Panicum oligosanthes
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Mixed Sun and Shade, Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 1 foot
Bloom Months:
July, October
 USDA Info
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Mixed Sun and Shade, Sun
Soil Moisture:
Dry, Medium
 3 to 6 feet
Bloom Months:
July, October
 USDA Info
Sandberg Bluegrass
Poa secunda J. Presl
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun, Mixed Sun and Shade
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 2 feet
Bloom Color:
Red
Bloom Months:
April, May
 USDA Info Sandberg bluegrass is a perennial bunchgrass, native to the Great Basin. It is an important component of sagebrush grassland vegetation, particularly in early successional stages. It is a widespread species and is one of the first perennial grasses to green up in spring.
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun, Mixed Sun and Shade
Soil Moisture:
Dry
 3 feet
Bloom Months:
July, August, September
 USDA Info
Hardstem Bulrush
Scirpus acutus
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Wet
 6 feet
Bloom Color:
Orange
Bloom Months:
August, September
 USDA Info
Green Bulrush
Scirpus atrovirens
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium, Wet
 5 feet USDA Info
Woolgrass
Scirpus cyperinus
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 3 to 5 feet USDA Info
River Bulrush
Scirpus fluviatilis
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun, Mixed Sun and Shade
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 6 feet USDA Info
Three-squared Bulrush
Scirpus pungens
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Mixed Sun and Shade, Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 4 feet USDA Info
Softstem Bulrush
Scirpus validus
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun
Soil Moisture:
Wet
 6 feet USDA Info
Indian Grass
Sorghastrum nutans
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun, Mixed Sun and Shade
Soil Moisture:
Dry, Medium
 5 feet
Bloom Color:
Green
Bloom Months:
July, August, September
 USDA Info
Broadfruit Bur-Reed
Sparganium eurycarpum
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Mixed Sun and Shade, Sun
Soil Moisture:
Medium, Wet
 3 to 6 feet USDA Info
Prairie Cordgrass
Spartina pectinata
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun, Mixed Sun and Shade
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 6 feet USDA Info
Prairie Dropseed
Sporobolus heterolepis
Type:
Grass
Light Exposure:
Sun, Mixed Sun and Shade
Soil Moisture:
Medium
 1 to 2 feet
Bloom Months:
August, September, October
 USDA Info
  • Native Plant Gardens
  • Raingardens
  • Shoreline Stabilization
  • Contact Blue Thumb
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 Blue Thumb. All rights reserved.

https://bluethumb.org/plant_type/grass

This website uses cookies for necessary functions and to enhance your browsing experience.

Accept & Continue