Natives For Your Neighborhood
Conservation of rare plants, animals, and ecosystems

General Landscape Uses: Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wildflower gardens.

Availability: Native plant nurseries.

Description: Medium to large herbaceous grass.

Dimensions: Typically 2-3 feet in height; to 6 feet when in flower. As broad as tall except when in flower.

Growth Rate: Moderate.

Range: Southeastern United States south to the Monroe County Keys; Bahamas. In the Monroe County Keys, disjunct from Miami-Dade County to the pine rocklands of Big Pine Key and nearby islands.

 Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.

 Map of suggested ZIP codes from South Florida north to southern Brevard, Osceola, Polk, and Pasco counties.

 Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.

Habitats: Pinelands.

Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, without humus.

Nutritional Requirements: Low; it grows in nutrient poor soils.

Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.

Salt Wind Tolerance: Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.

Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.

Light Requirements: Full sun.

Flower Color: Brownish inflorescence.

Flower Characteristics: Showy inflorescence.

Flowering Season: Summer-fall.

Fruit: Inconspicuous caryopsis.

Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host plant for Delaware skipper (Anatrytone logan), dusted skipper (Atrytonopsis hianna) and swarthy skipper (Nastra lherminier).

Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.

References: Nelson 2003

Comments: It can be pruned back annually. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page.