| Shortspike bluestem
|
| Andropogon brachystachyus
|
| Poaceae
|
Landscape Uses:
|
|
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
|
|
| Availability: |
|
Grown by enthusiasts and occasionally by native plant nurseries. |
| Description: |
| |
Medium to large herbaceous grass. |
| Height: |
| |
2-3 feet; to 4 feet when in flower |
| Growth Rate: |
| |
Fast. |
| Range: |
| |
Mostly peninsular Florida south to Broward and Collier counties; also eastern Georgia, southeastern South Carolina, and southern Alabama, where very rare; very rare and scattered in the Panhandle and southernmost parts of its range. |
| Habitats: |
| |
Wet pinelands and pond margins. |
| Soils: |
| |
Moist to seasonally wet, well-drained sandy soils, without humus. |
| Nutritional Requirements: |
| |
Low; it grows in nutrient poor soils. |
| Salt Water Tolerance: |
| |
Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water. |
| Salt Wind Tolerance: |
| |
Low; salt wind may burn the leaves. |
| Drought Tolerance: |
| |
Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established. |
| Light Requirements: |
| |
Full sun. |
| Flower Color: |
| |
Brownish inflorescence. |
| Flower Characteristics: |
| |
Semi-showy inflorescence. |
| Flowering Season: |
| |
Summer-fall. |
| Fruit: |
| |
Inconspicuous caryopsis. |
| Wildlife and Ecology: |
| |
|
| Horticultural Notes: |
| |
|
| Comments: |
| |
Should be cut back after flowering. |
|
|
|
|