Gettysburg National Military Park - Grasses

Gettysburg National Military Park by National Parks Service

When a visitor steps into any field in the park, he or she will be surrounded by many species of grasses. These grasses are frequently categorized into two groups-cool season grasses, which set seed in late spring, and early summer and warm season grasses which seed in late summer and early fall.

Warm season grasses in the park include broomsedge, deer-tongue grass, Indian grass, and purple top. Some cool season grasses in the park include bottle-brush grass, rice cutgrass, and smooth cutgrass white grass.

Because most warm season grasses are bunch grasses rather than sod grasses, warm season grasses provide good cover for wildlife species. They also do not bend over easily so they provide good nesting habitat for birds. For these reasons the park is currently transitioning some agricultural land into warm season grasses.