The answer to last week’s mystery is broomsedge, Andropogon virginicus, pictured in photo #2.
The plant’s distinctly flattened leaves and sheaths turn reddish-brown with maturity, while the flowers and seed heads give a feathery appearance. In Winter, the foliage and seed heads develop a pleasing golden orange color.
On late Winter afternoons, a field of broomsedge is quite a spectacle with glowing coppery foliage and silvery hairs that refract the sunlight.
Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go here.
Julie Lowe says
Carpinus caroliniana