Description
American Sloughgrass is a very distinctive and attractive riparian grass that has been described as both a warm and cool season native grass. It can be found in wet areas, sloughs and lakeshores throughout the northern Great Plains region. It frequently colonizes wetland soils that result from livestock grazing or tillage.
American Sloughgrass is used for reclaiming or controlling erosion in seasonally wet areas such as ditches, streambeds or freshwater shorelines. It is also recommended for plantings, which are intended to benefit wildlife. These flower heads produce large amounts of seed that are enjoyed by ducks, geese, songbirds and small animals. It provides fair grazable forage for browser wildlife species and has been used by overwatering nesting ducks and shorebirds for nesting habitat and protective cover. Its stems are hollow and a mature plant can grow to a height of 3 feet. The grass begins its growth in early May and flowers from July to August.
American Sloughgrass is used for reclaiming or controlling erosion in seasonally wet areas such as ditches, streambeds or freshwater shorelines. It is also recommended for plantings that are intended to benefit wildlife. It provides fair grazeable forage for browser wildlife species and has been used by over watering nesting ducks and shorebirds for nesting habitat and protective cover.
Sloughgrass can also be used as a short rotation forage. It is palatable to cattle and horses in early spring until seed setting when the crude protein is about 14%. By mid-August, the crude protein drops off to less than 5%.
