| Author | (L.) Parodi | |
| Distribution | Essentially throughout the state. The existing gaps will likely be filled by additional collecting.
MA to southern IL and OK, south to central FL and southern TX. | |
| Abundance | Generally common in the Piedmont; fairly common to common in much of the central and western Piedmont and Sandhills. Fairly common in the Mountains and parts of the lower Coastal Plain. | |
| Habitat | Dry to xeric, often rocky, oak-hickory and hardwood-pine slopes, ledges and outcrops, open woodlands, forest openings, glades, wooded roadsides. It shows a preference for open understory with little competition from shrubs. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting late March-June. | |
| Identification | The stems grow mostly 1.5-2.5 feet tall, from a tuft of skinny, revolute (rolled under and rounded in cross-section) leaves. The open, lax, terminal inflorescence is notable for the very long awns reaching 4-7.5 cm (up to 2-3 inches). The lemmas are brown to blackish. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Long known by the name Stipa avenacea.
| |
| Other Common Name(s) | Blackseed Speargrass, Black Oatgrass | |
| State Rank | [S5] * | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | UPL link |
| USACE-emp | UPL link |
