Northern Sweetgrass (Hierochloe hirta) - USDA Plants Database

NORTHERN<br />

SWEETGRASS<br />

<strong>Hierochloe</strong> <strong>hirta</strong> (SCHRANK)<br />

Borbás ssp. arctica (J. Presl)<br />

G. Weim.<br />

PLANT SYMBOL = HIHIA<br />

Contributed by: <strong>USDA</strong>-NRCS Rose Lake Plant Materials<br />

Center<br />

Rose Lake Plant Materials Center, East Lansing, Michigan<br />

Alternate Names<br />

<strong>Sweetgrass</strong> consists of several taxa including <strong>Hierochloe</strong><br />

odorata (L.) P. Beauv. HIOD and <strong>Hierochloe</strong> <strong>hirta</strong><br />

(Schrank) Borbás ssp. arctica (J. Presl) G. Weim. HIHIA.<br />

Other common names for sweetgrass include northern<br />

sweetgrass, vanilla grass, holy grass, Seneca grass, and<br />

alpine sweetgrass.<br />

Uses<br />

Cultural: Because of the sweet, vanilla-like fragrance<br />

that develops once the plant begins to dry, sweetgrass is<br />

commonly used as incense and fragrance by Native<br />

Americans. Longer leaves are often braided and burned<br />

for religious and peace ceremonies and for various other<br />

rituals of cultural significance. Another traditional use of<br />

this plant, particularly among the people of the Great<br />

Lakes and Northeast, is for handicrafts. <strong>Sweetgrass</strong> is<br />

often used to craft or decorate baskets, bowls, trays, and<br />

mats.<br />

Plant Fact Sheet<br />

Status<br />

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State<br />

Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current<br />

status (e.g., threatened or endangered species, state<br />

noxious status, and wetland indicator values).<br />

Description and Adaptation<br />

<strong>Hierochloe</strong> distribution from <strong>USDA</strong>-NRCS PLANTS <strong>Database</strong>.<br />

<strong>Sweetgrass</strong> is a native perennial grass. The stems are<br />

semi-erect, up to 30 inches tall from slender, creeping<br />

rhizomes. Leaves are few and rough-edged and have<br />

shiny, hairless undersides. Often it has a reddish-purple<br />

color near the base of the plant. The highly prized longer<br />

leaves that grow on sterile shoots reach 18+ inches in<br />

length. The inflorescence is an open, golden brown<br />

panicle with slender branches. The fruit is a typical grass<br />

seed. <strong>Sweetgrass</strong> is native to both northern North<br />

America and Eurasia. In North America its extensive<br />

range traverses the northern regions from Alaska to<br />

Newfoundland, down to New England, across the Great<br />

Lakes region and the upper Midwest to Oregon, and into<br />

the Southwest. <strong>Sweetgrass</strong> usually inhabits moist ground<br />

on shores (fresh or brackish), meadows, and low prairies,<br />

at the edges of woods, bogs, and marshes. Normally, it is<br />

not found in pure stands, rather it is found among other<br />

grasses and shrubs in mid-successional communities. For<br />

updated distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page<br />

for this species on the PLANTS Web site. Cultivars,<br />

Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin).

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Establishment<br />

<strong>Sweetgrass</strong> spreads vigorously by often-deep, creeping<br />

rhizomes. In the spring these rhizomes produce<br />

inconspicuous fruiting stems with sparse, short leaves.<br />

Longer leaves develop later from separate sterile basal<br />

shoots. Although sweetgrass can reproduce by seed, it is<br />

mostly infertile, producing few seedheads that contain<br />

few seeds. <strong>Sweetgrass</strong> is extremely cold hardy. It will go<br />

dormant in cold weather and resprout once ground<br />

temperatures reach 40oF. In the Great Lakes,<br />

Northeastern, and Midwestern regions flowering begins in<br />

the spring.<br />

<strong>Sweetgrass</strong> development from seed is very slow. This<br />

coupled with the infertile nature of the plant explains why<br />

plant division is the most successful method of<br />

reproducing sweetgrass. Plant division is accomplished<br />

by separating the individual propagules that have<br />

developed from the rhizomes of a spreading plant. Each<br />

propagule can then be placed in a container for further<br />

separation or future planting. Newly separated plants<br />

will do best if placed in the shade for 2–3 weeks while<br />

their roots establish. Then they may be transplanted at 1foot<br />

spacings into areas of partial shade to full sun.<br />

Management<br />

As sweetgrass is not drought tolerant, soil should be kept<br />

moist but not saturated. Fertilizer should be applied as<br />

appropriate for cool season grasses according to soil test<br />

recommendations.<br />

Rose Lake PlantMaterials Center, East Lansing, Michigan<br />

Longer leaves of the sterile shoots may be harvested<br />

several times during the year; however, the mid-season<br />

growth is considered superior. These leaves may be<br />

gathered by grasping the shoots firmly near the ground<br />

and pulling until they break from the rootstock an inch or<br />

two below the surface of the soil.<br />

Care should be exercised so roots are not pulled and<br />

plants are not damaged.<br />

Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area<br />

of origin)<br />

<strong>Sweetgrass</strong> is available from commercial sources.<br />

Horticultural selections or local and regional ecotypes are<br />

marketed by nurseries. Contact your local Natural<br />

Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil<br />

Conservation Service) office for more information.<br />

Prepared By<br />

John W. Leif, <strong>USDA</strong>-NRCS, East Lansing, MI<br />

Citation<br />

Leif, J. 2010. Plant fact sheet for sweetgrass [<strong>Hierochloe</strong><br />

<strong>hirta</strong> (Schrank) Borbás ssp. arctica (J. Presl) G. Weim.<br />

<strong>USDA</strong>-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Rose<br />

Lake Plant Materials Center, East Lansing, MI 48823.<br />

Published September, 2010<br />

Edited:13Apr2010jwl<br />

For more information about this and other plants, please<br />

contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation<br />

District , and visit the<br />

PLANTS Web site or the Plant<br />

Materials Program Web site <br />

<strong>USDA</strong> IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROVIDER AND EMPLOYER