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  Onagraceae : Oenothera suffrutescens

  R. Neil Reese

  Oenothera suffrutescens is a perennial herb, usually with several branched stems growing 20-100 cm tall, from a branching caudex and spreading underground stems the generate new plants and form large colonies. The simple, alternate leaves are almost sessile, linear to narrowly elliptic, 5-60 mm long and 1-7 mm wide with a pointed tip, the margins entire to having a few small teeth. The inflorescence is a spike-like raceme, 5-60 cm long on a peduncle that is 1-6 cm long. The zygomorphic flowers appear sessile, each subtended by a bract. The floral tube is 4-12 mm long, with 4 sepals 5-10 mm long and 4 clawed (narrowed) petals 3-9 mm long and 2-4 mm wide, that are initially white, then changing to red-orange or reddish brown. There are 8 stamens, the anthers red or yellow and a central pistil with a style 10-20 mm long topped with a 4-lobed stigma. The fruit is a capsule 4-9 mm long constricted at the base. This species is highly variable in habit, flower color, size and pubescence, with plants ranging from smooth to densely hairy. Scarlet guara blooms from May into August in dry prairies, open wooded hillsides and stream valleys throughout South Dakota.

  Synonym: Guara coccinea

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  Orchidaceae: Corallorhiza striata

  R Neil Reese

  Corallorhiza striata is a perennial saprophytic herb, lacking roots and growing from a much-branched rhizome, with erect stems 15-45 cm tall. The simple stems are succulent, yellow to red to purple to brown, wrapped with membranous bracts, 1-14 cm long. The inflorescence is a terminal raceme, 5-16 cm long with up to 35 flowers loosely arranged and subtended by bracts <4 mm long. The flowers are>nodding, yellow tinged with red to purple stripes. There are 3 narrow sepals, sometimes striped, 5-18 mm long, and 2-5 mm wide and 3, often purplish striped, petals the 2 lateral ones are about the same length as the sepals. The lower petal forms a broad, fleshy, reflexed bilobed lip, 3-16 mm long and 3-8 mm wide. The fruit is an elliptic capsule 1.2-2 cm long. Striped coralroot blooms in May and June in cool, coniferous woodlands in decaying litter in western South Dakota.

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  Orchidaceae: Platanthera dilatata

  R Neil Reese

  Platanthera dilatata is a perennial herb growing 15-70 cm tall. The mostly alternate, lanceolate leaves are cauline, 3-20 cm long and up to 3 cm wide with a pointed tip. the inflorescence is a loose to densely packed raceme, 5-25 cm long with 10-50 flowers, subtended by lanceolate floral bracts 5-40 mm long. The white flowers have 2 broad petal-like sepals that flare laterally, 4-8 mm long. Two lateral petals and an upper sepal form a hood, 4–6 mm long. The lower lip is narrower than the side sepals and initially curves up, touching the tip of the hood, and then flowing downward forming a sac-like to slender spur. The fruit is an ellipsoid capsule 8–15 mm long and 3-4 mm wide. White bog orchid is fairly rare in SD. It blooms in July in swampy forests and wooded bogs in and around Lawrence County in the State.

  Synonym: Habeneria dilatata

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  Papaveraceae : Argemone polyanthemos

  R Neil Reese

  Argemone polyanthemos is an annual to biennial plant with one to a few stems growing from a taproot. Plants vary greatly in size from 0.25 to 1.25 m in height with stems 7-20 mm in diameter. The stems are waxy with few to many yellowish prickles. The leaves are waxy with the upper surface smooth to bearing scattered prickles on the veins, with more prickles on the lower surface. The lower leaves are oblanceolate, deeply pinnately lobed, 7-25 cm long by 3-10 cm wide. The lobes are elliptical to obovate with undulating irregularly spiney-toothed margins and the petioles are winged. The leaves are reduced and become less lobed toward the top, but the margins are like those of the lower leaves. The flowers are 5-12 cm in diameter and are subtended by 2 bracts that are shorter than the sepals. The 3-6 yellowish sepals are 6-10 mm long. The 6-12 white petals are arranged in 2 rows, 2.5-5 cm long and nearly as wide. The center of the flower is dominated by numerous (~150) yellow stamens and the has 3-5 carpels. The fruit is a capsule 2.5-4 cm by 1-1.5 cm wide. The seeds are shiny, dark brown and round. Prickly poppy blooms from May until September. All parts of the plant have a yellow sap that stains the skin and clothing.

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  Papaveraceae : Sanguinaria canadensis

  R. Neil Reese

  Sanguinaria canadensis is a perennial herb with shallow, extensively branched rhizomes, 6-15 mm in diameter, that contain a red juice. The ends of the rhizome branchjes produce I leaf and 1 flower scape. At anthesis the leaf is usually shorted than the scape, but the petiole and blade rapidly expand and soon over tower the flower scape. The petiole reaches 10-35 cm in length, and the leaf blade becomes 6-20 cm long by 8-20 cm wide. The blade usually 3-7 lobed, almost circular in outline, green on top and waxy below, the margins entire to wavey. The flower forms at the end of a peduncle 5-12 cm long and has 2 rounded, membranous sepals, 2-12 mm long and 5-8 mm wide. The 8 (sometimes up to 16) white petals are oblanceolate to elliptic, 10-30 mm long and 5-12 mm wide, with 4 petals usually slightly larger than the others. The numerous stamens are up to 1 cm long with yellow anthers and the style is 2-lobed. The fruit is a spindle-shaped capsule, 3-5 cm long and 7-11 mm wide, containing ovoid, reddish brown seeds that have a prominent crest. Bloodroot blooms in late March into May on woodland slopes along the eastern edge of South Dakota.

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  Pinaceae : Pinus ponderosa

  R. Neil Reese

  Pinus ponderosa is a large evergreen tree with a pyramid-shaped crown that broadens with age and can reach 35 m in height. The trunk is straight, gray brown and furrowed when young, becoming scaley and gray mixed with orange brown with age, and the branches are gray black in color. The needle-like leaves are clustered toward the branch tips, usually 3 (2) per fascicle, 8-20 cm long, with small teeth along the margins. The fascicles emerge from a membranous, orange brown, deciduous sheath that is 1.5-2.5 cm long. Ponderosa pines are monoecious, the male cones are yellow orange, cylindrical, 1.5-3 cm long, in axillary clusters of 10-20 cones. The female cones are brown, woody, broadly ovoid, 6-12 cm long, 6-8 cm wide, and mature in the second year. Each cone scale has a thin prickle on the outer side. The seeds are in pairs underneath the scales, 6-7 mm long with a papery wing 3-4 times as long as the seed. The cones release pollen in May and June on low mountains and rocky hillsides in western and southcentral South Dakota.

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  Plantaginaceae : Plantago rugelii

  R. Neil Reese

  Plantago rugelii is a perennial herb growing from a short, erect caudex forming a low rosette of leaves with smooth, slender flowering stalks that can reach 35 cm in height. The leaf blades are broadly elliptic to ovate, 5-20 cm long and ½ to 2/3 as wide, narrowed at the base and rounded to pointed at the tip, with 5-9 major veins and entire to finely toothed margins. The petioles are 2-20 cm long, winged, and reddish toward the base. The inflorescence consists of 1-several terminal spikes, 5-20 cm long, sitting atop the smooth peduncle. Each flower is subtended by bracts 1.5-2.3 mm long, the 4 sepals are 2-2.5 mm long and the corolla forms a white to purple tube with 4 short lobes. The fruit is a capsule 6-8 mm long containing 4-10 black seeds. Blackseed plantain blooms from May into October in moist, often shaded woodlands and parklands along the eastern and western borders of South Dakota. This species is very similar to P. major, an introduced weed common in lawns and gardens throughout the world.

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  Poaceae: Alopecurus pratensis

  R. Neil Reese

  Alopecurus pratensis is a perennial grass in the Poaceae family. It forms dense tufts from a fibrous root system and can also spread via short rhizomes, sometimes forming loose sod. The stems (culms) are erect, simple, and unbranched, typically 40–110 cm in height and are smooth with little or no pubescence. Leaves are mostly basal, soft, flat, and linear, 3–10 mm wide and up to 35 cm long, with a rough texture and finely serrated margins; the ligule is long (up to 8 mm), membranous, and pointed, which is a distinguishing feature. Cauline leaves are fewer and shorter. Inflorescences appear from April to June and are dense, cylindrical spikes (5–12 cm long) that resemble a fox’s tail. Each bisexual spikelet is subtended by two glumes and contains a single floret with one lemma, a short palea, and a straight awn (5–8 mm) extending just beyond the glumes. The fruit is a caryopsis (grain), 2–3 mm long, narrow, and brown at maturity, ripening in early to mid-summer. Meadow foxtail is an introduced, cool-season grass in South Dakota, commonly found in moist meadows, pastures, ditches, and along streambanks, and is most abundant in the eastern part of the state and areas with higher soil moisture.

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  Poaceae: Andropogon gerardii

  R. Neil Reese

  Andropogon gerardii is a perennial warm season bunch grass. Mature plants have a well-developed fibrous root system 2-3 m deep, sending out short rhizomes, forming large dense bunches. The stems grow 1-3 m tall and become purplish toward the base. which grows 5 dm to 20 dm in height. These culms are solid and grooved on one side. The leaves have prominent midribs but are not keeled, many at the base of the plant and a few coming from the culm. The ligule is a fringed membrane 0.4-2.5 mm long. The inflorescence is a raceme of 3 (2-6) narrow racemes alternately arranged along the top of the stem, often looking like a turkey foot. Each raceme contains many pairs of spikelets, each pair having a stalked spikelet with another stalkless spikelet at the base of the stalk. The stalkless spikelet usually has a fertile, perfect floret with an awn, and the stalked spikelet is sterile or has a staminate flower that is awnless. This species is commonly found in pastures, along roadsides, and in open prairies. Big bluestem has green rust-red flowers that bloom from July to October.

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  Poaceae : Bouteloua curtipendula

  R. Neil Reese

  Bouteloua curtipendula is a rhizomatous perennial, warm season bunchgrass, with solid, erect culms arising in clumps. The leaf blades are rolled in the bud, but flat at maturity, 2-30 cm long and 2-6 mm wide. The upper surface is rough to the touch and often has hairs, especially along the margins. The lower surface is smooth. The ligule is fringed to eroded in appearance and less than 1 mm long. The inflorescence consist of 20-45 branches, 5-14 mm long, each with 3-8 spikelets, along the top 15 to 25 cm of the culm. The spikes often fall to one side of the stem, which gives the plant its name. Each spikelet is 4.5 to 10 mm long, with 2 glumes (bracts) and 2 florets, 1 sterile and 1 fertile with orange to brownish red anthers and a feathery 2 white stigmas. The fruit is a 1-seeded grain. Sideoats grama blooms from Jun into August on open grasslands and in woodland openings throughout South Dakota.

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  Poaceae : Bouteloua dactyloides

  R. Neil Reese

  Bouteloua dactyloides is a perennial, strongly stoloniferous, mat-forming grass, with solid culms that grow 3-20 cm in height. The leaves are rolled in the bud and flat at maturity, 1-10 cm long and up to 2 mm wide, smooth except with a few hairs in the collar region. The ligule is a fringe of hairs <1 mm>long, often flanked by long hairs. The plants are dioecious, the male inflorescences are on slender culms Having 2-5 one-sided branches, 7-13 mm long with 2 rows of spikelets each surrounded by 2 unequal bracts (glumes) one 1.4-3 mm the other < 5 mm long , surrounding 2 florets with 3 or fewer stamens. The male inflorescences are often retained into the fall. The female plants produce spikelets in 2-3 burr-like clusters subtended by modified foliage leaves, with 2-3, 1-flowered spikelets per burr. The fruit are grains that are retained in the burr. Buffalograss blooms from April into June in prairies predominantly on western South Dakota.

  Synonym: Buchloe dactyloides

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  Poaceae : Bouteloua gracilis

  R. Neil Reese

  Bouteloua gracilis is a mat-forming perennial grass, growing from short rhizomes, with solid culms reaching up to 50 cm in height. The leaf blades are C-shaped in the bud and flat to slightly rolled at maturity, 1-19 cm long and 0.5-2.5 mm wide. The leaf surfaces are often rough to the touch and may have hairs on one or both sides. The ligule is a short fringe of hairs less than 0.5 mm long. The inflorescence consists of 1-3 branches, 14-40 mm long bearing numerous spikelets. Each spikelet is surrounded by a pair of unequal glumes (bracts) with hairs along the midribs, one < 3.5 mm the other < 6mm long, containing 1 sterile and 1 fertile floret, each with a short awn. Fruit are single seeded grains. Blue grama blooms from June through August on dry prairies and waste grounds throughout South Dakota.

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  Poaceae : Bouteloua hirsuta

  R. Neil Reese

  Bouteloua hirsuta is a tufted perennial grass, with solid, erect and sometimes bent culms, which grow 10 cm to 45 cm in height. The leaves are basal and alternate on the culms, c-shaped in the bud and flat to rolled at maturity. The blades are 5-25 cm long and 1-3 mm wide, with thickened margins and long, white hairs with pimple-like bases on at the base of the blade, on the margins and occasionally on either or both surfaces. The leaf sheath is smooth to hairy, especially near the ligule and the ligule is a fringe of hairs <0.5 mm long. The inflorescence has 1 (occasionally 2+) branch, 15-30 mm long, that has 20 to 50 spikelets arranged on one side of the rachis, tightly packed in 2 rows, with the tip of the rachis extending 5 to 10mm beyond the terminal spikelet. The spikelets each have 2 unequal bracts (glumes) with extended tips (awns) that are green to purple, one <4 mm long and the other 5 to 6 mm long with hairs along the midrib, which enclose one fertile and usually one sterile floret. The fruit is a 1-seeded grain, oblong-elliptic, brown, 2.5 to 2.6 mm long. Hairy grama blooms from July into October in prairies and pastures in southern South Dakota.

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  Poaceae: Brachyelytrum erectum

  R. Neil Reese

  Brachyelytrum erectum is a perennial, tufted grass with a short, fibrous root system and sometimes creeping rhizomes, though it rarely forms dense colonies. The plant has upright to arching, slender stems (culms) that are typically unbranched, growing 40–100 cm tall. Leaf blades are alternate, thin, flat, and softly hairy, 10–30 cm long and 0.5–2 cm wide, tapering to a pointed tip, with margins that may be rough to the touch. The leaf sheath is open, and the ligule is a short fringe of hairs. The inflorescence is a narrow, nodding panicle (spike-like in appearance), 5–15 cm long, with few to several spikelets. Spikelets are one-flowered, about 1–1.5 cm long, with a long, straight or slightly bent awn extending from the lemma. The fruit is a small, brown, dry caryopsis (grain) about 3–5 mm long, maturing in late summer. Bearded Shorthusk is native to South Dakota, generally found in rich, moist to mesic deciduous woods, shaded slopes, and streambanks, especially in the eastern and central regions.

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  Poaceae: Bromus tectorum

  R Neil Reese

  Bromus tectorum is an annual grass with hollow, erect to ascending stems, 20-60 cm tall, with many soft white hairs on the lower leaves and stems and fewer hairs toward the top. The leaf blades are flat, 1-19 cm long and 1-5 mm wide. The ligule is membranous, 2 to 5 mm long, jagged along the top edge. The inflorescence is a panicle, 4-20 cm long, nodding to one side with arching branches. The lower branches have up to 8 spikelets per branch, with the upper usually with only 1 or 2. The pedicellate spikelets are lance-elliptic, 10 to 25 mm long, with a long awn. The spikelets contain 4-7 florets and one or more of the terminal florets may be sterile. The fruit is a 1-seeded grain. Cheatgrass blooms in May and June in disturbed areas throughout South Dakota.

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  Poaceae: Bromus tectorum

  R. Neil Reese

  Bromus tectorum is an annual grass with a fibrous root system that often penetrates deeply into the soil, reproducing solely by seed. The culms (stems) are slender, erect to ascending, and typically 20–70 cm tall, often loosely tufted and branching only at the base. The plant is densely covered in soft, fine hairs, giving it a downy texture throughout. Leaf blades are alternate, linear, 5–20 cm long and 2–5 mm wide, flat or loosely folded, and also softly hairy. Sheaths are open and hairy, with a membranous, notched ligule at the base of each blade. Flowering occurs in the late spring to early summer. The inflorescence is a loose, nodding panicle 7–20 cm long, often purplish at flowering, with slender, drooping branches. Spikelets are 1.5–3 cm long (excluding awns), each with 5–8 florets. Each floret has a lemma with a long, straight awn (10–15 mm) that becomes conspicuously sharp and barbed at maturity. The fruit is a slender, brown caryopsis (grain), maturing in early to mid-summer. Cheatgrass is introduced and invasive in South Dakota, rapidly colonizing disturbed ground, pastures, rangelands, roadsides, and open woods, found statewide but especially abundant in dry, open sites.

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  Poaceae: Cenchrus longispinus

  R Neil Reese

  Cenchrus longispinus is an annual grass with solid culms 20-60 cm tall. Multiple culms can be sprawling, ascending or erect, are smooth, often branching and mostly covered by the sheaths. The stem is often reddish at the base and light green above. The ligule is fringed with short, white hairs, 0.6-1.8 mm long. The sheath is contracted where the blade emerges, open at the front, and sometimes with a few long hairs at the constriction. The alternate leaves , 4-14 cm long, 3-7 mm wide, rough on the upper surface, mostly smooth on the lower, flat, folded lengthwise, or rolled up along the edges. The inflorescence consists of terminal and axillary spike-like clusters of burs, 2.5-10 cm long. Each bur has 30 or more spines of various sizes, the largest ones 3-5 mm long. There are with 2 or 3 spikelets per bur and 2 florets per spikelet, 1 fertile and the second staminate of sterile. The fruit are a single grain per spikelet that are retained within the bur. Sandbur blooms from July into September in disturbed ground throughout South Dakota.

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  Poaceae: Echinochloa muricata

  R. Neil Reese

  Echinochloa muricata is an annual grass growing from a fibrous root system. Stems are 30 to 100 cm in height, erect and robust, often branched near the top, usually smooth or slightly rough, with a round to slightly flattened cross-section. Leaves are alternate and linear-lanceolate, 10–30 cm long and 1–2 cm wide, with rough margins and a prominent midrib. The leaf sheath encloses the stem partially; the ligule is membranous, short, and translucent. Flowering occurs from mid to late summer (July–September). The inflorescence is a large, open, pyramidal to somewhat contracted panicle up to 20 cm long, composed of many spikelets. Each spikelet is flattened, lanceolate, about 3–6 mm long, green to purplish, bearing one to several florets. Spikelets have a scabrous (rough) surface covered with minute prickles (muricate texture), which gives the species its name. Each floret has three stamens and two feathery stigmas. The fruit is a small, oval caryopsis (grain), enclosed within a hardened lemma and palea, brown at maturity and 1.5–2 mm long, maturing in late summer. Rough barnyard grass is native to South Dakota, found in wetlands, ditches, floodplains, moist fields, and disturbed wet sites statewide, especially in eastern parts of the state.

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  Poaceae: Elymus canadensis

  R. Neil Reese

  Elymus canadensis is a perennial cool-season bunchgrass growing from a robust, fibrous root system forming clumps rather than sod. . Stems (culms) are sturdy, erect, rigid, and typically 60–150 cm tall, smooth to slightly rough. Leaves are alternate, flat, and linear, typically 10 to 30 centimeters long and 5 to 15 millimeters wide, with rough margins and a blunt or tapered tip and sheaths that tightly wrap the stem. Both basal and cauline leaves are present. The ligule is prominent, translucent, membranous, about 2 to 5 millimeters long, with a finely toothed or jagged margin. The inflorescence is a dense, spike-like raceme 10 to 30 centimeters long, composed of several spikelets arranged in two rows along the axis. Each spikelet is 10 to 15 millimeters long, containing 2–5 florets with awns 1–3 cm long. Flowers are bisexual, with three stamens with slender filaments and large anthers and a single pistil topped with two feathery stigmas The fruit is a caryopsis (grain), 5–7 mm long, brown at maturity, ripening in late summer. Canada wild rye is native to South Dakota, growing in prairies, open woodlands, roadsides, and disturbed sites statewide, with higher abundance in central and eastern regions.

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  Poaceae: Elymus repens

  R. Neil Reese

  Elymus repens is a perennial, cool-season grass that spreads aggressively via rhizomes, often forming dense mats. Stems (culms) are erect to arching, simple to sparingly branched, typically 30–120 cm tall, smooth or slightly roughened near the nodes. Leaves are alternate, flat, linear, typically 10 to 30 centimeters long and 5 to 12 millimeters wide, with rough margins, a pointed tip and sheathing bases. The ligule is membranous, about 2 to 4 millimeters long, with a jagged or irregular margin. The inflorescence is a slender, spike-like raceme 10 to 25 centimeters long, composed of numerous spikelets arranged in two rows along the axis. Spikelets are 10 to 18 millimeters long, each containing 2–4 florets with long awns often 3–6 cm in length giving the spikes a bristly look. Flowers are bisexual with three stamens and a single pistil crowned with two feathery stigmas. Fruits are caryopses (grains) about 4 to 7 millimeters long, enclosed by the lemma and palea. Seed maturation occurs from late summer to early fall. Quackgrass is native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is naturalized in South Dakota and considered an invasive weed, abundant in croplands, roadsides, disturbed soils, and pastures statewide.

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  Poaceae : Hierochloe hirta

  R. Neil Reese

  Hierochloe hirta is a perennial rhizomatous sod-forming grass with erect, hollow, hairless culms that grow 10 to 70 cm in height. The culms appear early in the spring and large tufts of basal leaves follow. The shiny leaf blades are rolled in the bud and flat at maturity, 10-30 cm long and 2-5 mm wide, with the 2-3 alternate culm leaves being much shorter and somewhat narrower, occasionally with hairs at the collar. The ligule of the culm leaves is membranous and 2-3 mm long. the inflorescence is a 4-9 cm long panicle of 3-floret spikelets, with the 2 lower florets having just stamens and the upper one being perfect. The 3 spikelets are surrounded by 2 bracts (glumes) that are usually membranous, hairless and slightly unequal in length. The bracts subtending the individual florets (lemma and palea) are often hairy. Sweetgrass blooms from May into July in wet meadows, sloughs and marshes in the northeastern and southwestern portions of South Dakota.

  Synonym: Anthoxanthum hirtum

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  Poaceae : Panicum virgatum

  R. Neil Reese

  Panicum virgatum is a rhizomatous perennial clump-forming grass, with multiple, erect hollow culms, that grows to 1.5 m tall. The leaves are all alternate, ascending to droopy, the leaf blades flat to rolled upward, 15-55 cm long and 5-11 mm wide, smooth to hair covered, particularly on the upper surface above the ligule. The ligule is 2-4 mm long consisting of a fringe of hairs on a membranous base. The inflorescence is a very open and diffuse panicle, 20-45 cm long, with slightly compressed, purplish spikelets, containing 1 fertile and 1 often staminate floret, surrounded by unequal bracts (glumes), the smaller 2.3-4 mm long and the larger 3.3-6 mm long, narrowly egg-shaped and tapering to a pointed tip. The glumes spread apart as the flower develops, with the stamens and styles becoming visible. A single grain develops in each spikelet. Switchgrass blooms from July through September in moist lowlands and prairies throughout South Dakota.

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  Poaceae : Phleum pratense

  R. Neil Reese

  Phleum pratense is a tufted perennial grass with smooth, hollow, erect, bulbous-based culms that grow 55-140 cm in height. The leaves are rolled in the bud and flattened at maturity. The blades are 3-27 cm long, up to 8 mm wide and occasionally rough to the touch. The leaf sheaths are open with a membranous ligule, 2-5 mm long, V-shaped at the front, white, and ragged at the top. The inflorescence is a cylindrical spike-like raceme of single-flowered spikelets, 2-25 cm long and < 1 cm wide. Each spikelet has a pair of equal bracts (glumes), 3 to 4 mm long including the awn. The fruit is a single grain, often retained within the glumes. Timothy blooms from late May into early August in pastures, along roadsides and in ditches scattered throughout South Dakota. This species was introduced as a forage grass and has become naturalized in many areas.

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  Poaceae : Schizachyrium scoparium

  R. Neil Reese

  Schizachyrium scoparium is a tuft forming, perennial bunchgrass with short rhizomes and solid, slightly flattened culms that grow to 1 m in height. The leaf bluish colored blades are folded and sometimes rolled under, smooth to hair, especially near the collar, 4-30 cm long and up to 4 mm wide. The usually hairless sheath has a keel and the membranous ligule is fringed and < 2.5 mm long. The flowering culms are many branched, each terminating in a single spicate straight to undulating raceme, 2-6 cm long, the rachis and pedicels hairy. The copper colored spikelets occur in pairs, one sessile and perfect with bracts (glumes) 6-9 mm long, the other pedicellate and usually staminate with glumes 3-6 mm long. Little bluestem blooms from July into October on prairies throughout South Dakota.

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  Poaceae : Sorghastrum nutans

  R. Neil Reese

  Sorghastrum nutans is a perennial bunchgrass from a short rhizome with hollow, erect culms, 0.6-2 m tall, that have hairy nodes. The leaf blades are rolled in the bud and flat at maturity, 5-60 cm long, 3-12 mm wide, with a prominent midrib near the base. The sheath is smooth to hairy, with projections from the collar and joined to the firm, membranous ligule that is 2-7 mm long. The inflorescence is a condensed panicle, 11-27 cm long, bearing perfect spikelets with an associated naked pedicel. The inflorescence branches and pedicels are covered with white hairs. The hairy subequal, 5-8 mm long and brownish colored bracts (glumes) surround 2 florets, one fertile one and one sterile with a long, twisted awn. The anther are exerted, 3-5 mm long. Indian grass blooms from late July into October on open prairies scattered throughout South Dakota.