Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Erianthus giganteus
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Erianthus from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Saccharum giganteum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Saccharum giganteum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-85-005:
Erianthus giganteus FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Erianthus giganteus
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Erianthus saccharoides
COMMON NAME:
Sugarcane Plumegrass, Giant Plumegrass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_ergi_002_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_ersa15_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_sagi_001_lvd
)
Keith Bradley kab_s_giganteum_73569
August Miami-Dade County FL
Everglades National Park
)
Jean Everett jbe091806_egiganteus_imma
September
Spikelets well separated at flowering, then expanding into a plumelike mass, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
Jean Everett jbe092004_egiganteus_habi
September
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_saccharum_giganteum
September
)
JK Marlow jkm161001_076
October Chesterfield County SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
Culms to 4m tall, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm161001_807
October Chesterfield County SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
)
JK Marlow jkm161001_826
October Chesterfield County SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
)
JK Marlow jkm201004_7576
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Leaves long-white hairy near base & short-hairy or not elsewhere, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm201004_7581
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm201004_7583
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm201004_7598
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm201004_7625
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Callus beard exceeds spikelet. Awn nearly straight, terete, scaberulous, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
fruit of Plumegrass species
)
JK Marlow jkm201021_7870
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Panicle silvery to purplish, 15-40cm long, 8-15cm broad, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm201021_7872
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm201021_7874
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm201021_7875
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm201021_7877
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Nodes usually bearded, internodes glabrous or pubescent, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_107
November Williamsburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_107b
November Williamsburg County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Erianthus giganteus
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Saccharum giganteum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Saccharum giganteum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-85-005:
Erianthus giganteus
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Erianthus giganteus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Erianthus saccharoides
523
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: marshes, roadbanks, lake and pond margins, cypress ponds, wet pine flatwoods, ditches, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Mountains)
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 alternate, 2-ranked
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Panicle silvery to purplish
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Grain reddish
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p238
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p248
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p176
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p213
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p746
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p194
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p106
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p140
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p006
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p414
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p348
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p400
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p295