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Indiangrass

Sorghastrum nutans

Summary 7

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

Description 8

Family:
Poaceae (Grass)

Height:
2 to 7 feet

Leaves and Stems:
Leaves are rough textured and flat (up to ½” wide and 2’ long), alternately attached to a round, hollow stem with fuzzy nodes.

Seedhead:
Seedhead is a narrow, branching plume emerging from the top of the plant (6-20” long). The plume appears open, soft, and coppery in color, becoming darker and more contracted over time.

Bloom time:
August-September

Nicknames:
Yellow Indian Grass, Wood Grass, Bushy Bluestem, Wild Oatgrass

Habitat:
Indian Grass grows well in part shade to full sun with moist to well-drained soils, and does especially well in rich loamy soils and moist sandy soils. It is commonly found in open woods, prairies, and savannas.

Wildlife Benefits:
Food source for caterpillars, grasshoppers, leafhoppers, and planthoppers. Provides habitat, winter cover, and nesting sites for many species of birds.

Can I plant this in my garden?
This plant does well across a wide range of conditions, but will not tolerate full shade. It is a common prairie restoration species, and may spread rapidly given rich soils and full sun. It is an attractive species that is tolerant of both drought and pollution, but it can be highly flammable and thus should not be planted near homes and other structures.

References:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/grass-sedge-rush/indian-grass
https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/plants/ind_grass.htm
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/sorghastrum-nutans/

Additional Range Maps 8

USDA NRCS Plants Database
BONAP County Distribution Map - (accompanying BONAP map key)
Minnesota Wildflowers MN Distribution Map

Culture 9

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

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

Description 9

Indiangrass is a warm-seasonperennialbunchgrass. 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.

It blooms from late summer to early fall, 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.

The branches of pollinated flower clusters bend outwards. At maturity, the seeds fall to the ground. There are about 175,000 seeds per pound.

Leaves in June

"Rifle-sight" ligule at the base of a leaf

Flowers with yellow stamens and golden-brown spikelets

Closeup of seeds

Ecology 9

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.

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.

External links 9

Media related to Sorghastrum nutans at Wikimedia Commons

Summary 9

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

Fontes e Créditos

  1. (c) Mark Kluge, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Mark Kluge
  2. (c) Matt Lavin, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/plant_diversity/21108986291/
  3. (c) CAJC: in the PNW, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/carolannie/43693590015/
  4. (c) Matt Lavin, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/plant_diversity/49095128216/
  5. (c) Matt Lavin, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/plant_diversity/49094612358/
  6. (c) Matt Lavin, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/plant_diversity/3912211191/
  7. Adaptado por Tricia LeBlanc de uma obra de (c) Wikipedia, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghastrum_nutans
  8. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA), https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/1425405
  9. (c) Wikipedia, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghastrum_nutans

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