Eriochloa contracta is a species of grass

Poaceae

The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...

 known by the common name prairie cupgrass. It is native to the central United States and it is naturalized

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 in areas to the east and west, where it is often a weed, especially in moist areas. This annual grass may grow up to a meter tall when erect or it may bend, rooting where nodes on the stem touch the ground. The inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

is up to 20 centimeters long and is made up of several branches which stick out to the sides. The branches are lined with purplish spikelets a few millimeters long.

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• USDA Plants Profile
• Grass Manual Treatment
• Photo gallery