Poaceae
Grass Family
Agropyron smithii Rydb.
- Stem: perennial; flowering stalk to 2’ tall; from an underground stem; smooth.
- Leaves: sheath smooth; ligule none; with pointed auricles; blade 8” by 3/16”, long-tapering to a sharp tip, with prominent veins, bluish, smooth.
- Inflorescence: spike of alternating spikelets; 2 1/2” to 4” long.
- Spikelets: 5/8” to 3/4” long; glumes 3/8” long; several florets, stiff hairs on the margins of the lemmas, lemmas sometimes short-awned; flowering from mid-June to early July.
- Fruits: florets 1/2” long; spikelets often fall from the glumes; fruiting begins in late June; spikelets begin to fall in mid-July.
- Habitat: frequent in dry soils, especially sandy or rocky; on prairies, roadsides, and open places to open woods; more common in western Iowa.
- Notes: Agropyron smithii closely resembles quackgrass (A. repens), a noxious weed, which has greener leaves. Making a positive identification is best done by experts.
- Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Vascular Plants of Iowa
Can be found in these counties:
