Culms 70-200 cm tall, 6-8 mm thick at the base. Ligules 3-7(9) mm; blades 20-45 cm long, 4-12 mm wide. Panicles 15-30 cm; primary branches ascending to divergent, spikelets appressed to the branches. Spikelets 7-11 mm. Lower glumes 5-8 mm; upper glumes 6.5-9 mm; calluses about 0.5 mm; lemmas 4-9 mm; paleas about as long as the lemmas; anthers 2-4 mm. 2n = 28.

Scolochloa festucacea grows in ponds, marshes, seasonally flooded basins, and shallow margins of freshwater to moderately saline lakes and streams. It provides good nesting cover for some waterfowl and shorebirds, and can provide valuable forage for livestock and wildlife. It does not compete well with hybrid cattails (Typha latifolia × T. angustifolia or T. domingensis).

Stout, erect, 10-18 dm; lvs 5-10 mm wide, elongate to a slender tip; ligule firm, 3-5 mm; panicle 1-2 dm, the branches ascending, bearing spikelets mostly above the middle, the lowest ones much elongate; spikelets 7-11 mm; glumes lanceolate, appressed, the first 5-7.5 mm, the second 6.5-10 mm; lemmas usually lacerate at the tip and with minutely projecting veins, the lowest 6-7 mm, the upper considerably smaller; 2n=28. Marshes and shallow water; n. Eurasia and nw. N. Amer., s. and e. to Oreg., Mont., Kans., and Io. (Fluminia f.)

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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