New flowers in the basement: Brisa maxima!
Commonly called Greater Quaking Grass or (my preference) Rattlesnake Grass due to the high-motion behavior of its flower/seedheads in the breeze, this is an annual grass native to the Mediterranean region and will likely be added to a restricted sunny spot somewhere in the yard next year. Plants reach nearly 2 feet tall before making pendulous clusters of overlapping scale-like bracts, which semi-resemble the interlocking segments of a rattlesnake’s rattle. These segments expand and eventually turn brown when the grass matures, and rattle and flutter in the slightest of winds. This species has an interesting history, as while it is technically edible (chewing the juice out of the blades or grinding the seedheads), it was likely among the first grasses to be grown not for food, but for ornamental purposes several millennia ago. Nowadays it’s almost entirely ornamental, thought with a note of caution that allowed to grow unrestricted it can become an aggressive invader of semi-dry habitats.

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