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

General Landscape Uses: Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also a creeping groundcover in moist, shady areas. Identified by Fair Child Tropical Botanic Garden as a native that does especially well in shade in this brochure.

Availability: Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.

Description: Small creeping herbaceous grass.

Dimensions: About 2-6 inches in height. Spreading and forming large, open or dense patches.

Growth Rate: Fast to moderate.

Range: Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland; West Indies, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Old World.

 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: Moist forests.

Soils: Moist to wet, well-drained to moderately well-drained sandy, limestone, or organic soils, with humusy top layer.

Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.

Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate 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: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.

Light Requirements: Light shade to moderate shade.

Flower Color: White.

Flower Characteristics: Inconspicuous.

Flowering Season: All year.

Fruit: Inconspicuous caryopsis.

Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host for Carolina satyr (Hermeuptychia sosbius) butterflies.

Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from division and seed.

References: EDIS (UF)