General Landscape Uses:
Groundcover in coastal areas. Also wildflower gardens.
Availability:
Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.
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.
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.
