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Sorghastrum nutans (Indiangrass)
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| Photo from "Minnesota Conservation Volunteer" Sept-Oct 2001, pg 64. |
Sorghastrum (Greek for "a poor imitation of sorghum" ) nutans (Latin for "nodding" or "swaying") is one of about 10 species of Sorghastrum grasses that dominate the U.S. Midwest prairie lands and is one of about 16-18 species of Sorghastrum worldwide.
S. nutans is a large slender grass up to 6ft tall or more. It is a slow spreader, spreading both by seed and by short, scaly rhizomes, until large expansive areas are covered with this majestic, swaying grass. In garden settings, it prefers moderately fertile, well-drained soil in full sun where it will form loose clumps that are best given room to spread. Avoid excess moisture.
As a prairie grass S. nutans creates patches of sod many times thicker than the bluegrass sod used for lawns in the landscaping industry. The finer roots of this prairie grass can reach as much as seven feet down into the Earth's surface to pull up moisture and nutrients for the plant. Over time, as these plants deposited their nutrients and organic matter into the sod layer, they created one of the world's most productive croplands, the U.S. Midwest. The grass itself is also very nutritious and makes good green forage, winter grazing and winter hay for livestock. (Though I didn't find any documentation, this leads to the conclusion that S. nutans may have been one of the primary food sources for the American bison.)
In Minnesota, many people and organizations are restoring and preserving patches of prairie land. Within the prairie stands this grass provides cover for ground-nesting birds, provides a seed food for many species of birds, and also provides a larval food for some skipper butterflies.
Kingdom: Plantae
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Cross referenced against the National Center for Biotechnology Information's Taxonomy Browser
and the Plants Database at http://plants.usda.gov/.
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Bibliography
 American Horticulture Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants | ---Brickell, Cristopher and Judith D. Zuk, 1997, The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, New York: DK Publishing, Inc., ISBN 0-7894-1943-2 |