North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Sorghastrum nutans

Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash

yellow prairie grass , indiangrass, yellow indiangrass

Synonym(s): Andropogon nutans, Sorghastrum avenaceum
Cultivar(s): Indian Steel, Sioux Blue

Sorghastrum nutans (Yellow Prairie Grass )

Image ID: 17480
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: SONU2
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sorghastrum nutans
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-01-11

CULTIVAR INDEX

Cult_id	Cultivar_name	Action
63	Indian Steel	View
1092	Sioux Blue	View

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: SORGH
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Sorghastrum
GENUS AUTHORITY: Nash
GENUS COMMON: Indiangrass
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 18-20 species, of tropical and subtropical America and Africa, rarely extending into temperate areas.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Hall (1982)=Z; Dávila Aranda & Hatch in FNA (2003a). Key adapted from Z.

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: POACEA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Poaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: (R. Brown) Barnhart 1895 or GRAMINEAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Grass Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 771 genera and 12,074 species, herbs (and some shrubs and trees), cosmopolitan. Tribal classification largely follows FNA (2003a, 2007a), with some changes based on subsequent research, as for instance in the Chloridoideae (Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson 2010a).
FAMILY REFERENCE: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a, 2007a)=FNA; Hitchcock and Chase (1950)=HC; Blomquist (1948); Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson (2010a, 2010b). Key to genera adapted in large part from FNA.

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 6 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Grass/Grasslike

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Late Aug-Oct

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
							x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
				x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: e. & central North America to Mexico

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Indian Grass is a primary component of tall-grass prairies in the west, but is found mostly along roadsides and in old fields east of the Appalachians. It is often used in restorations of fields that have become dominated by fescue because of high-quality wildlife habitat. Ground-nesting birds such as quail depend on Indian Grass and other warm-season grasses for habitat and food. Besides its use for wildlife habitat restoration, Indian Grass is an attractive grass for landscape. As it begins to go dormant in late fall this entire grass takes on golden hues. Effective when used en masse, the golden tips sway gently in the breeze providing movement to the garden.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 3
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE: 2
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
134	HORT	2009-10-22	NCBG staff	View
305	HORT	2010-10-27	NCBG staff	View
590	SOS	2015-10-17	Maynard	View
593	SOS	2015-10-26	Dakar	View
601	SOS	2015-10-18	Driskill	View
791	SOS	2016-10-17	Walker	View
825	SOS	2016-10-28	Dakar	View
840	SOS	2016-11-02	Healy	View
1729	HORT	2005-01-01	Bryan	View
1841	HORT	2006-01-01	Bryan	View
1882	HORT	2011-03-30	Gocke	View
2312	NPMD	2019-10-21	Touloupas	View
2314	NPMD	2019-10-21	Touloupas	View
2328	NPMD	2019-10-28	Touloupas	View
2329	NPMD	2019-11-06	Touloupas	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
133	2010-0045	2010-11-04	134	View
301	2011-0165	2011-07-09	305	View
5785	1995-0911			View
7047	1998-0333	1998-11-18		View
7392	2000-0135	2000-04-05		View
7699	2001-0053	2001-04-25		View
8148	2004-0158	2006-05-19		View
8871	2011-0078	2011-04-28	1882	View
9439	2021-0071	2021-07-01	0	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
256	133	102	Liloia	2010-10-06	View
257	133	29	Fache	2011-05-02	View
258	133	18	Liloia	2011-08-12	View
259	133	21	Liloia	2011-08-12	View
260	133	23	Liloia	2011-08-12	View
714	301	111	Liloia	2011-08-22	View
979	8871	41	NCBG staff	2011-04-21	View
8299	5785	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
9927	7047	52	NCBG staff	1998-11-01	View
9928	7047	54	NCBG staff	1998-11-01	View
10386	7392	143	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
11402	8148	200	NCBG staff	2003-02-14	View
12775	9439	23	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
12846	9439	21	Liloia	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: SONU2
USDA Common Name: Indiangrass
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, AZ, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, WY), CAN (MB, ON, QC, SK)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Graminoid

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACU		FACU		FACU	FACU		FACU	FACU	FACU

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sorghastrum nutans
COMMON NAME: Yellow Indiangrass
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, FNA, G, HC, K, Pa, RAB, S, Va, W, WH3, WV, Z; = S. avenaceum (Michaux) Nash]
PHENOLOGY: Late Aug-Oct.
HABITAT: Xeric and mesic woodlands and forests of a wide variety, powerline rights-of-way, roadbanks.
COMMENTS: ME and QC west to s. MB, south to c. peninsular FL, TX, UT, AZ, and Mexico. Along with Andropogon gerardi, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Panicum virgatum, Sorghastrum nutans is one of the dominant grasses of the tall-grass prairie. It is also common in a variety of open habitats (natural and altered) in the forested landscape of eastern North America.
RANGE MAP: Sorghastrum nutans.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Poaceae (R. Brown) Barnhart 1895 or GRAMINEAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Grass Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 771 genera and 12,074 species, herbs (and some shrubs and trees), cosmopolitan. Tribal classification largely follows FNA (2003a, 2007a), with some changes based on subsequent research, as for instance in the Chloridoideae (Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson 2010a).
REFERENCE: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a, 2007a)=FNA; Hitchcock and Chase (1950)=HC; Blomquist (1948); Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson (2010a, 2010b). Key to genera adapted in large part from FNA.

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Sorghastrum Nash (Indiangrass)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 18-20 species, of tropical and subtropical America and Africa, rarely extending into temperate areas.
REFERENCE: Hall (1982)=Z; Dávila Aranda & Hatch in FNA (2003a). Key adapted from Z.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Sorghastrum nutans in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Sorghastrum nutans in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Sorghastrum nutans in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Sorghastrum nutans in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Sorghastrum nutans in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Sorghastrum nutans

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 17480 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 17481 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 18870 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 17482 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)