''Sorghastrum nutans'', known as Indiangrass, is a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

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 United States and Canada, especially in the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

and

tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and Historical ecology#Anthropogenic fire, anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to th ...

s. It is sometimes called Indian grass, yellow Indian-grass, or wood grass.

Description

Indiangrass is a warm-season

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

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 perennia ...

. It is intolerant to shade. It grows tall, and is distinguished by a "rifle-sight"

ligule A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above g ...

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 (

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

s) of

spikelet A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the inflorescences 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 sp ...

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 ...

that has three large, showy yellow

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s 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 grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flow ...

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 tall grassland

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

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

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service lists the following uses for ''Sorghastrum nutans'': erosion control, livestock, pollinators, restoration, and wildlife.

References

{{Authority control Andropogoneae 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 Northern America Plants described in 1903 Flora without expected TNC conservation status Ornamental grass