Bottlebrush Grass

Native distribution

Native to the Finger Lakes Region

Cultivation

A decorative grass with bottle brush-like inflorescences that mature into attractive seeds.
Light: full shade to part shade.
Moisture and Soil: moist to medium soil.

Propagation

Seed Treatment and Storage: Store seeds dry. No stratification needed for excellent germination. Self-seeds once established (seeds germinate in fall and overwinter as seedlings).

Biocultural value

The Haudenosaunee used a decoction of the leaves together with reed grass rootstocks as a medicine to soak corn seeds before planting.

The statements above were sourced from:

Native American Ethnobotany Database: http://naeb.BRIT Native American Ethnobotany Database.org/

Wildlife value

Bottle brush grass flowers are wind-pollinated. Several insects feed on the foliage, including caterpillars of the northern pearly eye butterfly (Enodia anthedon) and larvae of leaf-mining moths (Elachista spp.), the golden borer moth (Papaipema cerina), a Scythrid moth (Asymmetrura graminivorella), a leaf beetle (Chalepus walshii), and a fly (Cerodontha angulata). When growing in shaded or partially shaded areas, bottle brush grass and other Elymus spp. may attract two aphid species (Carolinaia howardii and C. rhois), and two leafhopper species (Elymana acuma and Sorhoanus orientalis) during the summer. White-footed mice eat Elymus seeds and grazing animals consume the foliage before the poky seedheads form.

Location

Mundy Wildflower Garden, Coy Glen, Edwards Lake Cliffs Preserve, McLean Bogs, Eames Bog, Ringwood Ponds

Status

L4|S5|G5