Allergy Information

The grass family in general is considered significant allergenically.

Genus Details

Broom sedge is a tall reddish bunch of perennial grass that has panicles (flowering structures) which wave like red flags in the wind. The grass sheaths are smooth. Hairs extending from the grass are long and silky. Broom sedge is a high pollen producer and most pollen is shed from June to July. One generally can find broom sedge in fields, pastures and waste areas. It can get to 3-5 feet tall. Andropogon means "bearded like an old man."

Pollen Description

Grains are spheroidal to ovoidal, sometimes elliptical. The exine is thin and the surface is granular to finely reticuloid. Pocaceae apertures are 1-porate, with the pores usually circular to ovoidal.

Grains are 22-122 micrometers in diameter.

Genus Distribution

The shaded areas on the map indicates where the genus has been observed in the United States.

- Native, observed in a county 

- Introduced, observed in a county 

- Rarely observed