| 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 | 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 by 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 (2025) also recognizes var. bulbosum (Willdenow) Spenner, which differs only in producing small tubers at the culm base. It has been found in VA but not NC as far as is known.
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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 |
