Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Sorghastrum nutans
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Sorghastrum from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sorghastrum nutans
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sorghastrum nutans
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)
Sorghastrum nutans
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Sorghastrum nutans
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-89-001:
Sorghastrum nutans FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Sorghastrum nutans
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sorghastrum nutans
COMMON NAME:
Yellow Indiangrass, Prairie Indiangrass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_sonu2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_sonu2_007_lvd
)
JK Marlow s080519_abc
May Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm140624_305
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Culms 1-2.5m tall from short, scaly rhizomes, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
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JK Marlow jkm210624_1557
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm210624_1592
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm210818_2822
August Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm080925_002
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm080925_006
September Greenville County SC
The prominent anthers are golden yellow, per How to Know the Grasses: Pictured Key Nature Series (Pohl, 1954).
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_sorghastrum_nutans_5
September
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JK Marlow jkm071027_009
October Greenwood County SC
Roadside
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JK Marlow jkm081026_007
October Oconee County SC
Utility right-of-way
Note auricled sheaths and narrow flat blades, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
JK Marlow jkm231024_6254
October Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
Spikelets 6-8 mm long, lanceolate, hirsute, the awns 10-15 mm long, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
JK Marlow jkm0311g_16
November Chester County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm0411c_13
November Haywood County NC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm061112_106
November Union County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
The state native grass of South Carolina.
)
COMPARE)
JK Marlow jkm091107_006
November Greenwood County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow s031116_a
November Chester County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Sorghastrum nutans
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sorghastrum nutans
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sorghastrum nutans
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Sorghastrum nutans
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Sorghastrum nutans
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-89-001:
Sorghastrum nutans
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Sorghastrum nutans
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sorghastrum nutans
1444
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Xeric and mesic woodlands and forests of a wide variety, prairies, barrens, powerline rights-of-way, roadbanks. Along with Andropogon gerardi, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Panicum virgatum, Sorghastrum nutans is one of the dominant grasses of the tall-grass prairie. It is also common in a variety of open habitats (natural and altered) in the forested landscape of eastern North America, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Mostly low alternate, 2-ranked
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Panicle yellowish
Inflorescence a panicle of racemes
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Grain reddish
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p256
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p178
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p216
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p777
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p202
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p415
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p349
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p401
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p444
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p097
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