Calamagrostis acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ is a very striking, upright grass that produces narrow brown flower heads four to six feet tall. The straw colored flowers remain throughout the winter. This grass prefers rich, moist soil. Other cultivars include ‘Overdam’ and ‘Avalanche’ which exhibit white striping in the leaves and ‘El Dorado’ which has golden stripes in the middle of the green leaves.