ORCHARDGRASS--Dactylis glomerata
Description:  Orchardgrass is a cool-season, long-lived, perennial bunchgrass that commonly forms large tussocks by tillering.  Spikelets are crowded into distinct clusters in moderately compact to open panicles 4 to 10 inches long on culms 2 to 4 feet tall.  Leaf blades are very soft, flat, except V-shaped near the base, long, and arching.
Distribution, habitat:  Orchardgrass is an introduction of the late 1700s from Europe now naturalized in the humid regions of North America from Alaska to Florida.  It is an important forage crop in northeastern and north-central states and in the Pacific Northwest.  Orchardgrass is used to some extent in the northern Great Plains where precipitation exceeds 25 inches or where irrigated.  In central and eastern South Dakota and in the Black Hills, scattered plants occur as isolated individuals along roadways and drainage ditches.
Comments:  Although orchardgrass is winter hardy and long-lived in its primary range, in South Dakota a lack of autumn moisture almost always results in severe stand loss.  Autumn irrigation retards loss.  Orchardgrass is not as early as many other perennial cultivated cool-season grasses, but with adequate summer moisture, regrowth is superior to most other introduced grasses.  This makes it excellent pasture throughout the growing season.  When planted with alfalfa, its fertilizer requirements are greatly reduced.  'Kay,' 'Avon,' and 'Chinook' may be winter hardy enough for irrigated use in South Dakota.  When left standing, orchardgrass provides excellent nesting for upland birds.
  Picture and information can be found on pages 28 and 29 of Grassland Plants of South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains, by James R. Johnson and Gary E. Larson.  Published in 1999 by South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD.