General Landscape Uses:
Accent groundcover in coastal areas.
Availability:
Available at native plant nurseries in central and South Florida.
Description: Medium herbaceous grass, first clumping then spreading from rhizomes.
Dimensions: Typically 2-3 feet in height; to 4 feet when in flower. Ultimately spreading and forming large, open or dense patches.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Widespread in North America south to the Monroe County Keys; West Indies, Mexico and Central America.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Coastal marshes and beach dunes.
Soils: Wet to moist, moderately well-drained to poorly-drained brackish or saline soils, with or without organic or humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: Low to moderate; it can grow in nutrient poor soils or soils with some organic content.
Salt Water Tolerance: High; tolerates flooding by salt water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Frontline; grows in direct salt wind but away from constant salt spray.
Drought Tolerance: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Brownish inflorescence.
Flower Characteristics: Inconspicuous.
Flowering Season: Spring-fall; peak summer-fall.
Fruit: Inconspicuous light brown caryopsis.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed and division.
