Graminoids: List

For turf grasses used to control erosive flow in swales, see Turf: List

Sortable table, click on header you wish to select decorative graminoids by:

Scientific Name	Common Name	Soil Moisture 1=Dry 2=Med 3=Wet	Partial shade tolerance	Drought Tolerance 1=Low 2=Med 3=High	Salt Tolerance 1=Low 2=Med 3=High	Pollution tolerance	Compaction tolerance	STEP star!
Andropogon gerardii	Big Bluestem	2		3	2		Y	☆
Bromus latiglumis	Broad-glumed Brome	2-3	Y	2	2
Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'	Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass	1-2		2	2	Y	Y
Calamagrostis canadensis	Canada Blue-joint	2-3		1-2	2
Carex atherodes	Awned Sedge	3		2	2
Carex bebbii	Bebb’s Sedge	2-3		1-2	2		Y
Carex brevior	Brevior Sedge	1-2		2-3	2		Y
Carex crinita	Fringed Sedge	2-3	Y	1	1
Carex grayii	Asa Gray Sedge	2-3	Y	1	2
Carex hystericina	Porcupine Sedge	3		1	2
Carex intumescens	Bladder Sedge	3	Y	1	1
Carex lacustris	Lake-bank Sedge	2-3	Y	1	2
Carex lupulina	Hop Sedge	2	Y	1	1
Carex pensylvanica	Pennsylvania Sedge	1	Y	2-3	2
Carex stipata	Stalk-grain Sedge	2-3		1	2		Y
Carex vulpinoidea	Fox Sedge	2-3		1-2	2	Y	Y
Chasmanthium latifolium	Upland Sea Oats	2	Y	2	3
Danthonia spicata	Poverty Oatgrass	1-2		2-3	3		Y
Deschampsia cespitosa	Tufted Hairgrass	1	Y	2	2-3
Elymus canadensis	Canada Wild-rye	1-2		2-3	3		Y
Elymus riparius	River Wild-rye	2	Y	2	2		Y
Elymus virginicus var. virginicus	Virginia Wild-rye	2-3	Y	2	2		Y
Festuca spp. (see: other information)	Fescue species.	1-2	Y	3	2-3	Y	Y
Helictotrichon sempervirens	Blue Oat Grass	1-2		2	2
Juncus effusus ssp. solutus	Lamp Rush	2-3		1	3	Y	Y	☆
Juncus tenuis	Path Rush	2	Y	2	3		Y
Muhlenbergia mexicana var. mexicana	Mexican Muhly	2	Y	2	2
Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah'	Shenandoah Switchgrass	1-3	Y	3	3	Y	Y	☆
Pennisetum hamelin	Fountain Grass	1-2		3	3			☆
Schizachyrium scoparium (Andropogon scoparius)	Little Bluestem	1		3	2-3	Y	Y	☆
Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (Scirpus validus)	Soft-stem Bulrush	3		1	2-3	Y
Scirpus atrovirens	Dark-green Bulrush	3		1	2	Y
Scirpus cyperinus	Cottongrass Bulrush	3		2	2
Sorghastrum nutans	Yellow Indian-grass	1-2	Y	3	2-3		Y
Sparganium eurycarpum	Large Bur-reed	3	Y	1	2
Spartina pectinata	Prairie Cordgrass	2-3	Y	2	2	Y
Sporobolus neglectus	Small Dropseed	1-2		3	3		Y
Typha latifolia	Broad-leaf Cattail	3		1	2-3	Y

A shallow constructed channel, often grass-lined, which is used as an alternative to curb and channel, or as a pretreatment to other measures. Swales are generally characterized by a broad top width to depth ratio and gentle grades.

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