General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Ecological Restoration Notes: A common understory grass of pine rocklands, but less common in other pinelands in South Florida.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: Medium to large herbaceous grass.
Dimensions: Typically 2-4 feet in height; to 6 feet when in flower. A clumping grass about as broad as tall except when flowering.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Southeastern United States south to the Monroe County Keys; Bahamas. In the Monroe County Keys, apparently disjunct from Miami-Dade County to the pine rocklands of Big Pine Key and nearby islands. Probably introduced on Key Largo, where a weed of disturbed sites.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.
Habitats: Pinelands and disturbed sites.
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: Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Brown inflorescence.
Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy inflorescence.
Flowering Season: Summer-fall.
Fruit: Inconspicuous caryopsis.
Wildlife and Ecology: Possible larval host plant for Delaware skipper (Anatrytone logan), Georgia satyr (Neonympha areolata), neamathla skipper (Nastra neamathla), swarthy skipper (Nastra lherminier) and twin-spot skipper (Oligoria maculata) butterflies.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.
Comments: Usually best cut back after flowering. Spreads from seed in the garden and can become weedy.
