bottlebrush grass, Elymus hystrix

On that outing at Onsted, the next images were right by the parking spot. There is a really nice patch of bottlerush in bloom. Bloom? No petals of course, but the presentation is still eye catching with all those long, nicely spaced awns. The name bottlebrush seems inevitable, but the spike is too frail to actually be a brush. On each plant, the stamens preceed the pistils, to insure cross pollination. The seeds are a favorite of wild mice. There has been thought that Elymus could be developed into a useful grain crop, but if so it probably would already be happening. This grass grows mostly in woodlands in AL, AR, CT, DE, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME(T), MI, MN, MO, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV, MB, NB, NS, ON, and QC. Onsted State Game Area, Lenawee Co MI, 7/14/19.