''Sporobolus heterolepis'', commonly known as prairie dropseed, is a species of

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 native to the tallgrass and mixed grass prairies of central

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 ...

from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

to southern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It is also found further east, to the Atlantic coast of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

, but is much less common beyond 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 is restricted to specialized habitats. It is found in 27 states and four Canadian provinces.

Description

Prairie dropseed is a perennial

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 ...

whose mound of leaves is typically from high and across. Its flowering stems ( culms) grow from tall, extending above the leaves. The flower cluster is an airy

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 ...

long with many branches. They terminate in small

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, which each contain a single fertile

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 ...

. When it blooms, the floret has three reddish

anther 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 a short feathery stigma. If it is pollinated, the floret produces a nearly round seed long. At the base of the spikelet are two

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s (

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), one of them long and the other long. The bracts each are long and tapered, with sharply pointed tips. Around the floret are a lemma and palea, each about long, though the palea is sometimes longer than the lemma. Prairie dropseed is a fine-textured grass with long, narrow leaves that arch outward, forming attractive, round tufts. The leaves range in color from a rich green hue in summer to a golden rust color in the fall. Foliage is resilient enough to resist flattening by snow, so it provides year-round interest. From late July to mid-September, the grass blooms with rusty-tan flowers that rise in height. It occurs in a wide range of soils, doing well in moist to dry conditions. It is much less common in wetlands.

Ecology

It is a larval host to the Poweshiek skipper.The Xerces Society (2016), ''Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects'', Timber Press.

Uses

The grass is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

in gardens because of its attractive

form. Because of its drought tolerance, it has been used on

green roofs A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...

. The seedhead is sometimes described as having the vague scent of fresh popcorn,

cilantro Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the leaves as ha ...

, or

sunflower seed A sunflower seed is a seed from a sunflower (''Helianthus annuus''). There are three types of commonly used sunflower seeds: linoleic (most common), high oleic, and sunflower oil seeds. Each variety has its own unique levels of monounsatura ...

s. Prairie dropseed is also used for roadside revegetation and prairie restoration projects. It is difficult to establish by direct seeding. Transplanting greenhouse-grown seedlings is a more effective method of establishing it. Native Americans ground the seeds of the grass to make flour, and many species of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

eat the seeds.

References

External links

''Prairie Dropseed, plants & seeds''
from ''Prairie Nursery''

from ''Chicago Wilderness Magazine'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q7579245 heterolepis Grasses of North America Bunchgrasses of North America Warm-season grasses of North America Grasses of Canada Grasses of the United States Native grasses of the Great Plains region Flora of the United States Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Plants used in Native American cuisine Garden plants of North America Bird food plants Drought-tolerant plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status