Red-top, Agrostis gigantea Roth, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

	Grasses of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Height	Prime Season
	Red-top	Agrostis gigantea Roth	Poaceae (Grasses)		30 to 40"	Early to Late Summer
	Native Status	Red-top is not native but widely distributed throughout North America. In Minnesota it is found in all but a few widely scattered counties.
Notes	Red-top is a naturalized perennial grass often used for erosion control as it has stolons or runners above or below the soil surface (as the species name indicates) which root at the nodes. It is without rhizomes. A single plant can spread to a diameter of three feet. Leaves are narrow, sharp, about 3/8" wide and short, up to 4" long. The flowering part of the stem is pyramidal in shape and reddish in color and can be up to 8" long. It matures early. Red-top is found in much of the Great Plains and it can tolerate wet or dry conditions but is generally found in areas where there is moisture or recent moisture such as after flooding.


Photo above and at top left: ©Anna Gardner, Iowa State University	Photo above ©Robert W. Freckmann, Freckmann Herbarium, University of Wisconsin Steven's Point

Notes: This grass, while not native, was naturalized in the Garden. Eloise Butler catalogued it in her early Garden Records.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 28c, W2, W3, W5 & W6. Distribution principally from W2 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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