| Description | A thicket forming, rhizome spreading grass native to wet areas. |
|---|---|
| Plant Type | All Plants, Grass Ornamental |
| Hardiness Zone | 4 - 8 |
| Sunlight | full |
| Moisture | moist to wet |
| Soil & Site | Found growing in wet prairies, in sloughs, around ponds and swamps. |
| Flowers | inflorescence, panicle with many distinct one sided spikes |
| Leaves | narrow, long, a rough cutting edge, up to 1 foot long, up to 2/3 inch broad, turn red to light straw yellow in the fall. |
| Stems | stout rhizomes |
| Roots | fibrous system |
| Dimensions | up to six feet tall, spreads to form thick patches by stout rhizomes |
| Propagation | division, seeds |
| Misc Facts | American Indians and pioneers used the long leaves and stout stems of Prairie Cordgrass for thatching roofs and lodges. Common nickname "sloughgrass," given to Prairie Cordgrass, refers to the wet conditions in which it grows. |
| Author's Notes | I grew up playing baseball on a field we made next to my house. Running parallel to the right field line was a deep ditch filled with Prairie Cord Grass. Every time a ball needed to be retrieved from the ditch, the grass would inflict many small cuts on your arms and hands from the edge of the grass leaf. |
| Notes & Reference | #46-Wetland Plants and Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin) |
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