Sorghastrum nutans

Sorghastrum nutans, commonly known as either Indiangrass or yellow Indiangrass,[2] is a North American prairie grass found in the central and eastern United States and Canada, especially in the Great Plains and tallgrass prairies.

"Indiangrass" redirects here. It may also refer to other members of the genus Sorghastrum.

Sorghastrum nutans
Indiangrass in bloom
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Genus: Sorghastrum
Species:
S. nutans
Binomial name
Sorghastrum nutans
Synonyms[1]
  • Andropogon avenaceus Michx.
  • Andropogon nutans L.
  • Andropogon nutans var. avenaceus (Michx.) Hack.
  • Chrysopogon avenaceus (Michx.) Benth.
  • Sorghastrum avenaceum (Michx.) Nash

Description

Indiangrass is a warm-season perennial bunchgrass. It is intolerant to shade. It grows 3 to 7 feet (1 to 2 m) tall, and is distinguished by a "rifle-sight" ligule where the leaf blade attaches to the leaf sheath. The leaf is about 3 feet (1 m) long.[3]

It blooms from late summer to early fall in Illinois, producing branched clusters (panicles) of spikelets. The spikelets are golden-brown during the blooming period, and each contain one perfect floret that has three large, showy yellow stamens and two feather-like stigmas. One of the two glumes at the base of the spikelets is covered in silky white hairs. The flowers are cross-pollinated by the wind.[4]

The branches of pollinated flower clusters bend outwards. At maturity, the seeds fall to the ground.[4] They weigh at about 175,000 seeds to the pound.[3]

  • Leaves in June
  • "Rifle-sight" ligule at the base of a leaf
  • Flowers with yellow stamens and golden-brown spikelets
  • Closeup of seeds

Ecology

Sorghastrum nutans is prominent in the tallgrass prairie ecosystem and the northern, central, and Flint Hills tall grassland ecoregions, along with big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). It is also common in areas of longleaf pine.

It is adapted in the United States from the southern border to Canada and from the eastern seaboard to Montana, Wyoming and Utah.[3]

It regrows with renewed vitality after fires, so controlled burns are used, replacing extirpated large herbivores (i.e. bison), for habitat renewal.

It is a larval host to the pepper-and-salt skipper.[5]

Culture

Indiangrass is the official state grass of both Oklahoma and South Carolina.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service lists the following uses for Indiangrass:

  • Erosion control
  • Livestock
  • Pollinators
  • Restoration
  • Wildlife[3]
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See also

References
  1. "Sorghastrum nutans". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  2. "Sorghastrum nutans". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  3. "Indiangrass." Plant Fact Sheet.2011. Accessed July 26, 2015
  4. Hilty, John (2016). "Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)". Illinois Wildflowers.
  5. The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.

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