Sweet Vernalgrass

Pollen Type: Grass

Cross-Reactivity: Northern Grasses K.Blue Timothy

HS Allergy Extract: Sweet Vernalgrass (Standardized)

Family: Poaceae

Genus/Species: Anthoxanthum odoratum

Common Names: Sweet Vernalgrass

Distribution: Throughout the United States.

Locations: East of the Mississippi River, and northern California, Oregon and Washington.

Pollination Method: Wind-pollinated

Pollinating Period: May & June. April into July in milder areas.

Description: Sweet Vernalgrass is a slender, tufted perennial grass that grows 1′-3′ tall. Its leaf blades are short and broad, measuring 1/8″-3/8″ wide, and can be either hairless or loosely hairy. The plant produces narrow, elongated flower heads that are 1″-4″ inches long and crowded with oblong-shaped spikelets ranging from 1/4″- 4/10″ long. The spikelets can be dark when young, and the lower lemmas which enclose the flower in the spikelet, have projecting awns. While Sweet Vernalgrass is sometimes seeded in meadow mixtures, it is primarily grown for its fragrance rather than its forage value. It’s also used as a lawn grass and house plant due to its sweet scent. However, it is considered an invasive plant.