Natural History

Prairie dropseed

Classification
Kingdom - Plantae
Division - Magnoliophyta
Class - Liliopsida
Order - Cyperales
Family - Poaceae (grass family)
Genus species - Sporobolus heterolepis (Gray) Gray

Etymology
Sporobolus: Greek spora for "seed" and ballein for "to cast forth" referring to dropping seeds at maturity.
Heterolepis: heteros for "varied," lepis for "scale"

Sources
http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=SPOHET