Sweet vernalgrass
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. April 2011.
Scientific name: Anthoxanthum odoratum L.
Common name(s): sweet vernalgrass, holy grass, vanilla grass, buffalo grass, large sweet grass
Link(s): USDA PLANTS Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
-
- in flower, early June
-
- leaf and stem detail
-
- late flowering
-
- inflorescence, mid-June
-
- inflorescence detail
Description:
– perennial
-leaf blade 2–10 mm in width
-spikelet 7–9 mm in length
-inflorescence
– smells and tastes sweet when crushed
– may be confused with A. ovatum; see left sidebar on Go Botany webpage
Habitat:
-disturbed sites
-woodlands
-meadows and fields
-cliffs
-ridges
Agriculture:
-unpalatable to cattle
- declining use in hay and pasture mixes
Natural History:
-Native Americans used the stems to make baskets
Sources:
Go Botany. “Anthoxanthum Odoratum L.” Anthoxanthum Odoratum (Large Sweet Grass, Sweet Vernalgrass): Go Botany, 2021, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/anthoxanthum/odoratum/.
Acknowledgement(s):
Eric T. Doucette, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Biology, MA College of Liberal Arts, North Adams, MA (updated Feb 2018)