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

General Landscape Uses: Groundcover in coastal areas. Also wildflower gardens.

Availability: Commonly available at native plant nurseries in central Florida. Available in in Boynton Beach at Sustainscape (561-245-5305).

Description: Small creeping herbaceous grass.

Dimensions: About 6-12 inches in height; to 18 inches when in flower. Spreading and forming large patches much broader than tall.

Growth Rate: Moderate.

Range: Southeastern United States and Maryland west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America.

 Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.

 Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.

Habitats: Brackish coastal areas and beach dunes.

Soils: Wet to moist, moderately well-drained to periodically inundated 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: Moderate; tolerates brackish water or occasional inundation by salt water.

Salt Wind Tolerance: Pioneer; grows in unconsolidated substrate in direct salt wind and spray.

Drought Tolerance: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.

Light Requirements: Full sun.

Flower Color: Light brown inflorescence.

Flower Characteristics: Inconspicuous.

Flowering Season: All year.

Fruit: Inconspicuous light brown caryopsis.

Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host plant for obscure skipper (Panoquina panoquinoides) butterflies.

Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed and division.