Species › Plants › Prairie Cordgrass

Prairie Cordgrass

Spartina pectinata

CommonPlant
Illustration of Prairie Cordgrass (Spartina pectinata)

Prairie Cordgrass is a tall, coarse grass of wet prairies, wet meadows, and marshland edges of the interior North America. Its sharp-edged leaves can cut skin. It forms dense monocultures that provide excellent cover and nesting habitat for marsh wrens, red-winged blackbirds, and bitterns. Muskrats use it for lodge construction.

Habitat
Wet prairies, wet meadows, and inland marshes across central North America
Diet
Nesting habitat for marsh wren and bitterns; used by muskrats for lodge construction
How common
Common

Best time to see a Prairie Cordgrass

The best time to see a Prairie Cordgrass is July–September, when about 73% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 2,372 research-grade iNaturalist observations.

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