Poverty grass is native to much of North America. Aristida is from the Latin arista,
"awn" or "beard," a reference to tiny beardlike tufts; dichotoma means "forked in pairs."
Identification: Poverty grass is a bunchgrass that prefers
dry, open, often sandy soil. It is branched near the base, 8-16″ (20-40 cm) tall, with short
blades about 1/32″ (1 mm) wide. It has two glumes ⅛-¼″ (6-8 mm) long, like
miniature corn husks that enclose a central lemma that is ~3/16″ (5-6 mm) long. The
lemma is topped by an awn, a pointy spike that is coiled at the base and turned at a right
angle. There are two more little awns, 1/32″ (1 mm) long.