Panicum virgatum

Common Name: 
switchgrass
Scientific Name: 
Panicum virgatum L.
Family Name: 
Poaceae (Graminae) - Grass Family
Identification Notes
Life Cycle
native perennial, reproducing by seed and scaly rhizomes that form large, dense clumps
Culms
upright, tall, solitary, unbranched, smooth, coarse, round, light to medium green sometimes bluish
Growth Habit of Switchgrass
Growth Habit of Switchgrass
Leaves
blades flat, nearly smooth, triangular patch of hair on upperside near base; rolled in bud; auricles absent; ligule a fringe of silky hairs; sheaths smooth, shorter than internode, sometimes reddish or purplish near base; nodes swollen and usually dark co
Leaves of Switchgrass
Seedheads
terminal panicle, branched, spreading widely, shape oval to pyramidal
Seedheads of Switchgrass