Rice Cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides)
- Family: Grass (Poaceae)
- Flowering: June-October.
- Field Marks: This species is recognized by its rough, saw-toothed leaf edges and its spikelets 1/6-1/4 inch long.
- Habitat: Swamps, sloughs, around ponds and lakes, wet meadows, roadside ditches.
- Habit: Perennial herbs from slender rhizomes.
- Stems: Ascending to erect, branched, usually smooth, up to 5 feet tall.
- Leaves: Flat, elongated, up to 1/2 inch wide, with small but sharp-cutting teeth along the edges.
- Flowers: 1 per spikelet, with many spikelets arranged in a panicle up to 8 inches long; each spikelet greenish-white, oblong, 1/6-1/4 inch long.
- Stamens: 3.
- Pistils: Ovary superior; styles 3.
- Grains: Red-brown, ellipsoid, 1/8 inch long.
- Notes: The saw-toothed leaf edges can readily tear the flesh.
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