Nodding Wild Rye Grass
The stout stems of Nodding Wild Rye are from two to five feet in height and bear dark green, elongated spikes which become nodding as the blossoms open.The outer, empty scales of certain species of this genus are thick and corky, and by adhering to the ripened spikelets act as floats to buoy the seeds as they fall on the water's surface.
This formation of the scales, so advantageous to the new seed, is most noticeable in Terrell-grass, whose spikelets, supported by their spongy floats, drift downstream until the little rafts are washed ashore and the seeds find soil on which they may take root far, often, from the parent plant.