Vigorously rhizomatous; culms usually 3-6 dm, their sheaths few, elongate, bladeless or with lanceolate blades rarely over 3 cm; panicle pyramidal, 5-10 cm, with widely spreading or somewhat drooping branches; glumes shiny, ovate, 4-6 mm; staminate lemmas equaling the glumes or slightly shorter, often hairy on the back, awnless, sharply acute; fertile lemma shorter, hairy at the tip; 2n=28, 42, 56. Often apomictic or infertile. Moist soil, meadows, or bog-margins; circumboreal, s. to N.J., Md., O., Io., and Ariz. (H. nashii)

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

©The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

From Flora of Indiana (1940) by Charles C. Deam

Infrequent in some of our northern counties where it is usually found in open marshes. I have one specimen from mucky soil of a fallow cornfield.

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Indiana Coefficient of Conservatism: C = 10

Wetland Indicator Status: FACW

Diagnostic Traits: Fragrant grass; panicle open, the branches spreading or drooping; glumes nearly equal in length, with lateral nerves +/- obscure; 3 florets per spikelet, lower florets male, awnless.