Grasses

No-mow STEP stars These are species which have demonstrated good performance in projects designed, installed and monitored by the Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program.

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

Many of the images on this page have some from contributors at iNaturalist, United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ontario Grasses, and the former Bluestem Nursery.
Search their database for beautiful images; always check the individual CC copyright terms.

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

Scientific Name	Common Name	Native	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!	Illustration
Andropogon gerardii	Big Bluestem	Y	2		3	2		Y	☆
Bouteloua curtipendula	Side-Oats Grama	Y	1-2	Y	3	3	Y	Y
Bromus latiglumis	Broad-glumed Brome	Y	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/Reedgrass	Y	2-3		1-2	2
Carex atherodes	Awned Sedge	Y	3		2	2
Carex bebbii	Bebb’s Sedge	Y	2-3		1-2	2		Y
Carex brevior	Brevior Sedge	Y	1-2		2-3	2		Y
Carex crinita	Fringed Sedge	Y	2-3	Y	1	1
Carex grayii	Asa Gray Sedge	Y	2-3	Y	1	2
Carex hystericina	Porcupine Sedge	Y	3		1	2
Carex intumescens	Bladder Sedge	Y	3	Y	1	1
Carex lacustris	Lake-bank Sedge	Y	2-3	Y	1	2
Carex lupulina	Hop Sedge	Y	2	Y	1	1
Carex pensylvanica	Pennsylvania Sedge	Y	1	Y	2-3	2
Carex stipata	Stalk-grain Sedge	Y	2-3		1	2		Y
Carex vulpinoidea	Fox Sedge	Y	2-3		1-2	2	Y	Y
Chasmanthium latifolium	Upland Sea Oats		2	Y	2	3
Danthonia spicata	Poverty Oatgrass	Y	1-2		2-3	3		Y
Deschampsia cespitosa	Tufted Hairgrass	Y	1	Y	2	2-3
Elymus canadensis	Canada Wild-rye	Y	1-2		2-3	3		Y
Elymus riparius	River Wild-rye	Y	2	Y	2	2		Y
Elymus virginicus var. virginicus	Virginia Wild-rye	Y	2-3	Y	2	2		Y
Festuca spp. (see: other information)	Fescue species.	Y	1-2	Y	3	2-3	Y	Y
Helictotrichon sempervirens	Blue Oat Grass		1-2		2	2
Juncus effusus ssp. solutus	Lamp Rush	Y	2-3		1	3	Y	Y	☆
Juncus tenuis	Path Rush	Y	2	Y	2	3		Y
Muhlenbergia mexicana var. mexicana	Mexican Muhly	Y	2	Y	2	2
Panicum virgatum	Shenandoah Switchgrass/Switch Panicgrass	Y	1-3	Y	3	3	Y	Y	☆
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'hameln'	Fountain Grass		1-2		3	3			☆
Schizachyrium scoparium (Andropogon scoparius)	Little Bluestem	Y	1		3	2-3	Y	Y	☆
Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (Scirpus validus)	Soft-stem Bulrush	Y	3		1	2-3	Y
Scirpus atrovirens	Dark-green Bulrush	Y	3		1	2	Y
Scirpus cyperinus	Cottongrass Bulrush	Y	3		2	2
Sorghastrum nutans	Yellow Indian-grass	Y	1-2	Y	3	2-3		Y
Sparganium eurycarpum	Large Bur-reed	Y	3	Y	1	2
Sporobolus cryptandrus	Sand Dropseed	Y	1	Y	3	3	Y	Y
Sporobolus michauxianus	Prairie Cordgrass	Y	2-3	Y	2	2	Y
Sporobolus neglectus	Small Dropseed	Y	1-2		3	3		Y
Typha latifolia	Broad-leaf Cattail	Y	3		1	2-3	Y
Carex comosa	Bearded/Bristly Sedge	Y	3		1	1		Y

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• Plants

Resilient turf grasses are particularly useful in the design of vegetated filter strips, dry ponds and enhanced grass swales. The Ministry of Transportation have standardized a number of grass mixes. The 'Salt Tolerant Mix' is of particular value for low impact development applications alongside asphalt roadways and paved walkways.

Canada #1 Ground Cover (salt tolerant mix)

Common name	Scientific name	Proportion
Tall Fescue	Festuca arundinacea	25 %
Fults Alkali Grass	Puccinellia distans	20 %
Creeping Red Fescue	Festuca rubra	25 %
Perennial ryegrass	Lolium perrenne	20 %
Hard Fescue	Festuca trachyphylla	10 %

Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program

Mineral particles which are smaller than 2 mm, and which are free of appreciable quantities of clay and silt. Coarse sand usually designates sand grains with particle size between 0.2 and 0.02 mm.

A stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the impacts of increased urban runoff and stormwater pollution by managing it as close to its source as possible. It comprises a set of site design approaches and small scale stormwater management practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration and evapotranspiration, and rainwater harvesting.

A mixture of mineral aggregates bound with bituminous materials, used in the construction and maintenance of paved surfaces.