Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
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 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
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_sonu2_007_lvd
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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
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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
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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).
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JK Marlow jkm0311g_16
November Chester County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
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JK Marlow jkm0411c_13
November Haywood County NC
Roadside
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JK Marlow jkm061112_106
November Union County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
The state native grass of South Carolina.
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COMPARE)
JK Marlow jkm091107_006
November Greenwood County SC
Roadside
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).
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JK Marlow s031116_a
November Chester County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
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
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, 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.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
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