Alkali Dropseed Sporobolus airoides
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- spor-OB-oh-lus air-OY-deez
- Description
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Sporobolus airoides, or Alkali dropseed, is a warm-season, perennial, ornamental bunchgrass native to western and central United States and often found in saline flats, prairies and sands, and meadows and valleys with moderately saline soils (hence the alkali common name). Alkali dropseed will grow in most soil types, including saline soils, and prefers dry or moist soil. It cannot grow in the shade and is pollinated by the wind. Alkali dropseed tolerates flooding, drought, and saline-alkaline conditions. It is good for dust control and soil protection on saline-alkaline soils with limited moisture availability.
The plant grows in large, tough bunches to a height of 6 feet with narrow gray-green leaves that turn yellow in fall and light tan in winter. It produces abundant seeds and the graceful, open seedhead is composed of tiny, reddish spikelets. The seeds are edible; raw or cooked, and can be parched, ground into a flour and eaten dry or made into a mush. This seed has been known to be used by the Hopi Indians as a famine food, only used when all else fails. The stem is thick and woody at the base.
This is a valuable grass for revegetation projects in disturbed habitats, especially in the western United States.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Problems:
No known problems.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Sporobolus
- Species:
- airoides
- Family:
- Poaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Western and Central United States
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- drought
- Edibility:
- Seeds can be eaten
- Dimensions:
- Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 20 ft. 8 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
- Habit/Form:
- Clumping
- Erect
- Mounding
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Fine
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Shallow Rocky
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Type:
- Achene
- Caryopsis
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Cream/Tan
- Gold/Yellow
- Gray/Silver
- Pink
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Panicle
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Good Dried
- Long Bloom Season
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Flower Description:
- Open panicles in summer, strong pink cast, dries to silver. Blooms from mid-summer to late fall. Blossoms are long and generally wide open and spreading, bearing yellow spikelets with purplish bases.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Gray/Silver
- Green
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Long-lasting
- Showy
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Cream/Tan
- Gold/Yellow
- Leaf Shape:
- Lanceolate
- Linear
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Twenty-four inch gray-green leaves turn yellow in fall and light tan in winter.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Tough and thick at the base.
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Landscape:
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Drought
- Salt
