Indian Grass

(Sorghastrum nutans)

Grass Family

The plants grow as dense tufts or as single stems mixed with other grasses. The flowering stems are up to 7 feet tall. The leaves are up to 2 feet long and rarely over ½ inch wide. Each leaf has a distinctive pair of tooth-like, erect, narrow, pointed lobes where the leaf blade joins the stem. The lobes are usually reddish to yellowish colored. The flower heads are narrow and initially chestnut brown colored, eventually fading to a grayish brown color. The hairy seeds have twisted bristle tips about ½ inch long.