| Author | (L.) Palisot de Beauvois ex J. & C. Presl | |
| Distribution | Mostly Mountains and northern Piedmont; rare in the northern Coastal Plain.
Native to the Mediterranean region; in eastern N.A. from Newf. and Ont. south to GA and AR. | |
| Abundance | Uncommon to frequent in the Mountains; uncommon in the northern Piedmont; rare in the Coastal Plain. | |
| Habitat | Fields, meadows, roadsides, pastures. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting May-June. | |
| Identification | Tall Oatgrass typically grows 2-4 feet high, but may be shorter or taller. Stems have relatively few leaves, and are terminated in a narrow inflorescence up to a foot long. The latter has numerous short branches and branchlets with spikelets 7-11 mm long. The lower lemma of each floret has a hair-like awn 10-20 mm long, twisted basally and bent at the midpoint. It superficially resembles Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans), but the inflorescence lacks the tawny coloration of Indian Grass, and each spikelet contains 2 florets (vs. 1). | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Weakley (2020) also recognizes var. bulbosum (Willdenow) Spenner, which differs only in producing small tubers at the culm base.
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| Other Common Name(s) | | |
| State Rank | SE | |
| Global Rank | GNR | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FACU link |
| USACE-emp | FACU link |
