General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Availability:
Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.
Description: Large herbaceous grass.
Dimensions: Typically 3-5 feet in height; to 6 feet when in flower. About as broad as tall.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; Bermuda, the West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.
Habitats: Coastal marshes.
Soils: Wet, periodically inundated brackish or saline soils.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance: High; tolerates flooding by salt water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury.
Drought Tolerance: Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Yellowish-green inflorescence.
Flower Characteristics: Inconspicuous.
Flowering Season: Summer-fall.
Fruit: Inconspicuous caryopsis.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed and division.
References: Miami-Dade County Landscape Manual
(2005).
