Prairie Dropseed

Prairie Dropseed is a fine-textured, native bunchgrass of the tallgrass prairie region, forming elegant, arching mounds of hair-thin leaves that turn golden-orange in autumn. In late summer it produces airy, fragrant flower panicles with a distinctive sweet, cilantro-like or popcorn-like scent that can be detected from several feet away. It is a slow-growing, long-lived grass that can persist in a single location for decades, making it a reliable indicator of undisturbed or high-quality prairie remnants. Its seeds are relished by small mammals and ground-feeding birds.