Sporobolus heterolepis

Sporobolus heterolepis, commonly known as prairie dropseed, is a species of prairie grass native to the tallgrass and mixed grass prairies of central North America from Texas to southern Canada. It is also found further east, to the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada, but is much less common beyond the Great Plains and is restricted to specialized habitats. It is found in 27 states and four Canadian provinces. Prairie dropseed is a perennial bunchgrass whose mound of leaves is typically from 1 to 2 ft (30 to 60 cm) high and 2 to 3 ft (60 to 90 cm) across. Its flowering stems (culms) grow from 1 1⁄2 to 3 ft (45 to 90 cm) tall, extending above the leaves. The flower cluster is an airy panicle 3 to 8 in (8 to 20 cm) long with many branches. They terminate in small spikelets, which each contain a single fertile floret. When it blooms, the floret has three reddish anthers and a short feathery stigma. If it is pollinated, the floret produces a nearly round seed 1.5 to 2.0 mm (0.06 to 0.08 in) long. At the base of the spikelet are two bracts (glumes), one of them 4 to 6 mm (0.16 to 0.24 in) long and the other 2 to 4 mm (0.08 to 0.16 in) long. The bracts each are long and tapered, with sharply pointed tips. Around the floret are a lemma and palea, each about 3.5 to 5.5 mm (0.14 to 0.22 in) long, though the palea is sometimes longer than the lemma.