Al, These plants were uprooted and subsequently planted, as I mentioned in the original post. I had to put them in soil as soon as possible and I doubt anyone, even an experienced gardener like yourself, could have avoided the stress of transplant unless they dug out a block of dirt when moving them. These were growing in a gravel driveway and were going to be sprayed with herbicide. I saw the opportunity to save a few. That is all. I find your comment very condescending.

Identification of grasses can be very challenging. It usually requires close examination of the flowers, although some of the more common native prairie grasses can be identified pretty readily once you know what the overall appearance. A good starter book for grasses and grass-like plants is "Field Guide to the Grasses, Sedges and Rushes of the United States" by Edward Knobel. No photos, just illustrations and it doesn't distinguish between natives and non-natives. For other plants, something like Peterson's "A Field Guide to Wildflowers : Northeastern and North-Central North America" would be a convenient reference and it does mention which ones have been introduced.

Thank you I agree its probably Red Baneberry .. there are fluffy white roundish flowers at the top .. I was confused because some plants which I know to be Red Baneberry don't have the tall grey stems but perhaps the short ones are babies and/or don't get as much light. This particular one is in Central Park NYC which I think is zone 6, mine are in zone 5 CT which is typically about a month behind NYC. Thank you!

Not too close to the home if your area is prone to wildfires. It's considered one of the natives that are a fire hazard. Nothing like a palm tree but something to be careful with. fire ratings of certain plants