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Western Wetland Flora

Field Office Guide to Plant Species

Holy Grass
Hierochloe odorata (L.) Beauv.

JPG -- Species Photo JPG -- Distribution Map

Family: Grass (Gramineae)
Flowering: June-August
Field Marks: This grass is easily identified in the field by the vanilla-like fragrance of its stems and leaves, its 3-flowered spikelets about 1/4 inch long, and its hairy lemmas.
Habitat: Wet meadows, along streams, in bogs.
Habit: Perennial grass with branching rhizomes.
Stems: Upright, hollow, up to 2 feet tall, without hairs.
Leaves: Elongated, narrow, flat, up to 1/4 inch wide, without hairs; ligule up to 1/4 inch long, more or less fringed.
Flowers: Borne in 3-flowered spikelets, the spikelets arranged in a panicle up to 4 inches long; spikelets about 1/4 inch long, the lower 2 flowers male only, the upper flower with both stamens and pistils; lemmas hairy.
Sepals: 0.
Petals: 0.
Stamens: 3.
Pistils: Ovary superior.
Grains: Small, ovoid, smooth.
Notes: This species is also known as sweetgrass or vanilla grass because of the fragrance of its stems and leaves. There is a report of this species from California.

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Return to Species List -- Group 2
Next Species -- Common Velvet Grass (Holcus lanatus)

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/florawe/species/2/hierodor.htm
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Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:24:00 EST
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