We had a field day.  

The sun was shining, the temperature was mild, and the afternoon was spent meandering through a meadow in Chilmark. On this outing, a gorgeous golden grass caught my eye.  

Not one to let the grass grow under my feet, I made haste to identify the tall, shaggy-tipped plant proliferating in the pasture. Though it resembled bluestem, it had a bushier head, described as resembling silvery cotton candy. It was in a wetland rather than the drier, sandier substrate that bluestem usually inhabits. In fact, this grass is a variety of bluestem but one of the few in the genus andropogon that thrives in wet soils.  

Andropogon is a genus that encompasses more than 100 grasses, and the name of the genus translates into “man-beard.” Andropogon glomeratus, the species found in the field, adds the connotation of “bunched,” further expanding on the nature of the plant. A few common names are also indicative of its appearance: they include bushy beardgrass, bushy bluestem and bunched broomsedge.  

The plant’s scientific name was bestowed by a giant of botanical nomenclature. Nathaniel Lord Britton, a Staten Island native, was notable not only for his prolific naming of species, but also for cataloguing the flora of New York, New Jersey and beyond. Even more accolades go to him and his wife, bryologist Elizabeth Gertrude Britton. Together, they founded the New York Botanical Garden.  

Though the Brittons are credited with the naming of this and other plants, one must remember that the plants were already known and named by the indigenous people of the area. Two tribes, the Rappanhannok (of what is now Virginia) and the Cherokee, both used this grass medicinally and culturally. The former used the roots for relief from poison ivy’s rash and the latter also used the stem to make yellow dye. Other traditional tribal uses include treatment for back pain, hives and hemorrhoids.  

While this species is native to the East Coast, it, along with another similar grass (andropogon Virginicus) with which it can interbreed, have been identified as invasive in other areas. Hawaii, some West Coast states, Australia and New Zealand are among the places where these plants are considered intruders. Australians call it whiskey grass, as it was believed that it came into that country as packing materials for U.S.-made whiskey.   

Here, where it belongs, it is a blessing and not a curse. Wildlife use bushy bluestem: birds such as juncos, sparrows and finches eat its seeds, and others birds use it for nesting material. Deer and rabbits will browse on it, and some caterpillars employ it as a larval feeding source.   

The field of dreams for us grass lovers is off Middle Road, on the backside of the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank property Fulling Mill Brook Preserve. Its growth has been encouraged by recent work to remove trees, which opens landscapes and encourages the species they harbor. Think of it as our own spacious, sustainable and accessible botanical garden, not started by the Brittons but nurtured by land bank staff. Theirs was truly a grassroots effort that paid off handsomely, enabling the bushy bluestem to be a beautiful inspiration to us all. 

Suzan Bellincampi is islands director for Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown and the Nantucket Wildlife Sanctuaries. She is also the author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature and The Nature of Martha’s Vineyard.