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Sweet Vernal Grass

Anthoxanthum odoratum

One of the very early flowering grasses with a sweet scent. It was included in pasture mixes and is responsible for the smell of new mown hay. Memorialized in the song about the Wabash river fields. Now a plant of roadsides, probably from seeds included in the seed mix.

Photo of Sweet Vernal Grass

Photo by Dr. John Meade, weed scientist emeritus
Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension