Sweetgrass vs Yellow Mountain Avens

Sweetgrass is a cool-season perennial grass best known for its sweet, vanilla-like fragrance. The scent comes from coumarin in the leaves, which is pleasant to humans but has a bitter taste that makes the plant less appealing to deer and other herbivores. As a cool-season grass, Sweetgrass grows most vigorously in spring and fall, slowing or even going dormant during the heat of summer.

It spreads quickly through creeping rhizomes and can be difficult to remove once established, so it is best planted in areas where its spread will not cause problems. Due to its deep, vigorous root system and preference for moist soils, Sweetgrass is especially useful for erosion control, soil stabilization, riparian plantings, and naturalization projects.

Note: Sweetgrass was formerly classified under the scientific name Hierochloe odorata and its subspecies. The subspecies found in Canada are currently considered two distinct species: Anthoxanthum hirtum, which is native across Canada, and Anthoxanthum nitens, which is native to Eastern Canada. Because these two species are alike and share many overlapping common names, they are often considered as only one species.

Yellow Mountain Avens is a native perennial wildflower with bright yellow buttercup-like blooms. The nectar-rich flowers attract a variety of pollinators, including bees and butterflies. By thriving at higher elevations, it helps sustain pollinator populations and provides one of the earliest sources of nectar and pollen in alpine habitats.

As a nitrogen-fixing plant, Yellow Mountain Avens enriches soil fertility and supports the growth of surrounding vegetation. It forms dense, spreading mats of evergreen foliage that act as a groundcover and help stabilize soil. Often among the first species to establish in disturbed alpine sites such as glacial outwash or landslides, it is well-suited for alpine revegetation, erosion control, naturalization, and ecological restoration projects in harsh, rocky environments.

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