The tan flower stalks of Deschampsia flexuosa seem out of place this early in the season, presaging the end of summer just when we were getting warmed up. A cool-season grass that can be seen blanketing (and now browning) the pitch-pine forest understory, D. flexuosa is naturally coming to the end of its reproductive cycle. If you can catch its airy, amber panicles backlit by the low angles of the setting sun, like it is pictured here along the driveway of the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, the glowing plant becomes one of summer’s marvels instead of just a sign of its demise. The plant’s common name is wavy hair grass; inspecting a stalk up close will reveal sections that are wavy or crinkly instead of smooth and straight.
