General Landscape Uses:
Groundcover, showy borders.
Availability:
Commonly available at native plant nurseries in central Florida. Available at native plant nurseries in northeast Florida.
Description: Leafy grass to 3 feet tall with flat leaves 8 inches long and one inch wide. Large, green spikelets on 10 inch long panicles in the summer.
Dimensions: Typically 3 feet in height.
Range:
Mostly eastern and central United States south to the Florida Panhandle and Marion County; rare in northeastern Florida.
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.
Habitats: Wet hammocks
Soils: Moist to wet, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer.
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: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements: Light shade.
Flower Color: Pinkish to greenish
Flower Characteristics: Showy flattened spikelets.
Flowering Season: Summer to fall.
References: Wunderlin and Hansen (
2011), Waskowski (
2010)
Comments: We have been adding data for this species for central and northern Florida and welcome any feedback or review. If you would like to contribute information or images, please contact George Gann via the IRC staff page.
