View in other NatureServe Network Field Guides
NatureServe
Montana
Utah
Wyoming
Idaho
Wisconsin
British Columbia
South Carolina
Yukon
California
New York
Indiangrass - Sorghastrum nutans
Native Species
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
SNR
C-value:
1
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:
External Links
General Description
Warm season, perennial bunchgrass with short rhizomes. Stems 1–2 m. Leaves: blades 5–10 mm wide, flat and lax to ascending; ligule 2–7 mm long, membranous; sheaths ciliate along margins. Inflorescence a contracted panicle, 15–30 cm long; rachis and pedicels long hairy along margins. Spikelets paired, one sessile the other pedicellate, the sessile seed bearing, 5–8 mm long; the pedicellate mostly absent and represented by only the naked pedicel; glumes straw colored, acute, rounded on back and completely enveloping the florets. Lemmas with a bent awn 10–18 mm long; palea inconspicuous. Disarticulation below the glumes; unit of dispersal the spikelet pair (Lavin in
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
Range Comments
Yellowstone County and reported from reclamation area in Rosebud County (John Rumely, personal communication). Throughout central and eastern North America (Lavin in Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 1
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Grassland
Lowland - Prairie Grassland
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Brey, C.W. 1998. Epidemiology of wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella K.) and wheat streak mosaic virus on feral grass species and effect of glyphosate on wheat curl mite dispersal. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 136 p.
- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
- Web Search Engines for Articles on "Indiangrass"
