Northern Sweetgrass: A Lesser-Known Native Grass Worth Knowing
If you’ve been exploring native grasses for your landscape, you might have stumbled across northern sweetgrass (Hierochloe hirta hirta) – a somewhat mysterious member of the grass family that deserves a closer look, even if it’s not the easiest plant to find information about!
What Exactly Is Northern Sweetgrass?
Northern sweetgrass belongs to the grass family and is technically classified as a graminoid – that’s botanist-speak for grass or grass-like plant. This includes not just true grasses, but also sedges, rushes, and other similar plants. While it shares a common name with the more well-known sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata), this particular subspecies has its own unique characteristics.
You might also see this plant listed under its scientific synonyms, including Anthoxanthum hirtum or Hierochloe odorata subspecies hirta, which can make researching it a bit like a botanical treasure hunt.
Where Does It Grow?
Here’s where things get a bit tricky – specific information about northern sweetgrass’s exact native range isn’t well-documented in readily available sources. However, based on its classification and naming, it likely calls northern regions home.
The Wetland Connection
One thing we do know for certain about northern sweetgrass is its relationship with water. Across virtually every region of North America – from Alaska to the Atlantic Coast, from the Great Plains to the Western Mountains – this grass carries a Facultative Wetland status. This means it’s quite the water-lover, usually preferring wetland conditions but flexible enough to tolerate drier sites when needed.
This wetland preference makes it potentially valuable for:
- Rain gardens and bioswales
- Pond or stream edges
- Areas with seasonal flooding
- Naturalized wetland restoration projects
Should You Plant Northern Sweetgrass?
Here’s the honest truth: northern sweetgrass falls into that category of plants we wish we knew more about. While it appears to be a native species with valuable wetland habitat benefits, specific information about growing it successfully, its appearance, and its wildlife benefits is surprisingly scarce.
If you’re interested in adding native grasses to your landscape, you might want to consider these better-documented alternatives that offer similar wetland benefits:
- Blue joint grass (Calamagrostis canadensis)
- Fowl bluegrass (Poa palustris)
- Rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides)
- The more common sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata)
The Mystery Factor
Sometimes the most interesting plants are the ones that keep a few secrets! Northern sweetgrass represents one of those fascinating gaps in our readily available horticultural knowledge. While we know it exists and has wetland affinities, much about its specific growing requirements, appearance, and garden performance remains to be better documented.
If you’re the adventurous type who enjoys botanical detective work, northern sweetgrass might be worth seeking out from specialty native plant sources. Just remember that with lesser-known plants, you might be doing a bit of experimenting to figure out what works best in your particular conditions.
The Bottom Line
Northern sweetgrass is like that interesting acquaintance you’d like to get to know better – intriguing, potentially valuable for wetland gardens, but still somewhat mysterious. While it may not be the easiest plant to find or grow successfully without more specific information, it represents the wonderful diversity of native plants that are still waiting to be better understood and appreciated by gardeners.
For now, if you’re drawn to native wetland grasses, you might be better served by its more well-documented cousins while keeping an eye out for more information about this particular subspecies as botanical knowledge continues to evolve.