Grass trio

There are sure-fire signs of every season, some of them obvious, some of them more subtle. I think the procession of grass species is in the subtle category, since most people tend to overlook these ubiquitous plants in favor of the showier wildflowers. Grasses, of course, are wildflowers, it's just that their flowers are small. But if you have a hand lens, you'll notice that they have all the same parts as the gaudier lilies and composites, the stars of the summer show. On my walk today through a murky afternoon, I noticed three new grasses that were putting in their debut appearances. The one on the left is Barnyard Grass, the center's Foxtail, and the one on the right, in full bloom, is a Brome. This trio marks a changing of the Gramineae guards, as June turns solidly to July and high summer is upon us.