''Sorghastrum nutans'', commonly known as either Indiangrass or yellow Indiangrass, is a North American

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

grass found in the central and eastern United States and Canada, especially in the Great Plains and

tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachm ...

Description

Indiangrass is a warm-season

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perenni ...

. It is intolerant to shade. It grows tall, and is distinguished by a "rifle-sight" ligule where the leaf blade attaches to the leaf sheath. The leaf is about long. It blooms from late summer to early fall, producing branched clusters ( panicles) of

spikelet A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the flowers of grasses, sedges and some other Monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the spikelet that ...

s. The spikelets are golden-brown during the blooming period, and each contain one perfect

floret This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

that has three large, showy yellow stamens and two feather-like stigmas. One of the two

glume In botany, a glume is a bract (leaf-like structure) below a spikelet in the inflorescence (flower cluster) of grasses (Poaceae) or the flowers of sedges (Cyperaceae). There are two other types of bracts in the spikelets of grasses: the lemma and ...

s at the base of the spikelets is covered in silky white hairs. The flowers are cross-pollinated by the wind. The branches of pollinated flower clusters bend outwards. At maturity, the seeds fall to the ground. There are about 175,000 seeds per pound. SorghastrumNutans.jpg, Leaves in June Sorghastrum nutans (3912211835).jpg, "Rifle-sight" ligule at the base of a leaf Sorghastrum nutans flowers closeup.jpg, Flowers with yellow stamens and golden-brown spikelets Sorghastrum nutans ARS-1.jpg, Closeup of seeds

Ecology

''Sorghastrum nutans'' is prominent in the

ecosystem and the northern, central, and

Flint Hills The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a region in eastern Kansas and north-central Oklahoma named for the abundant residual flint eroded from the bedrock that lies near or at the surface. It consists of ...

tall grassland

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

s, along with big bluestem (''Andropogon gerardi''), little bluestem (''Schizachyrium scoparium'') and switchgrass (''Panicum virgatum''). It is also common in areas of

longleaf pine The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...

. It is adapted in the United States from the southern border to Canada and from the eastern seaboard to Montana, Wyoming and Utah."Indiangrass."
Plant Fact Sheet.2011. Accessed July 26, 2015 It regrows with renewed vitality after fires, so controlled burns are used, replacing extirpated large herbivores (i.e. bison), for habitat renewal. It is a larval host to the

pepper-and-salt skipper ''Amblyscirtes hegon'', the pepper-and-salt skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found from Nova Scotia and Maine, west to southern Manitoba, south to Georgia, northern Florida and south-eastern Texas. It is mostly absent fr ...

.The Xerces Society (2016), ''Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects'', Timber Press.

Culture

Indiangrass is the official

state grass The following is a list of official U.S. state grasses. __TOC__ Table See also * Lists of U.S. state insignia References {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of U.S. State Grasses . * Grasses Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly u ...

of both Oklahoma and

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service lists the following uses for Indiangrass: *Erosion control *Livestock *Pollinators *Restoration *Wildlife

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile — ''Sorghastrum nutans'' (Yellow Indiangrass)

Missouri Botanical Garden: ''Sorghastrum nutans''
— ''horticultural info.''
Floridata: Yellow Indiangrass

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3046578 Panicoideae Grasses of North America Bunchgrasses of North America Warm-season grasses of North America Grasses of the United States Grasses of Canada Native grasses of the Great Plains region Flora of the United States Flora of the Canadian Prairies Flora of the Western United States Flora of the Eastern United States Flora of North America Plants described in 1903 Flora without expected TNC conservation status