Sporobolus heterolepis, commonly known as prairie dropseed, is a species of prairie grass native to the tallgrass and mixed grass prairies of central North America from Texas to southern Canada. It is also found further east, to the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada, but is much less common beyond the Great Plains and is restricted to specialized habitats. It is found in 27 states and four Canadian provinces.
Sporobolus is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. The name Sporobolus means "seed-thrower", and is derived from Ancient Greek word σπόρος (spóros), meaning "seed", and the root of βάλλειν (bállein) "to throw", referring to the dispersion of seeds. Members of the genus are usually called dropseeds or sacaton grasses. They are typical prairie and savanna plants, occurring in other types of open habitat in warmer climates. At least one species is threatened with extinction, and another is extinct.
Cinna is a small genus of grasses known by the common name woodreeds. There are only four known species but they are quite widespread in the Americas and northern Eurasia.
Crypsis is an African and Eurasian plant in the grass family sometimes referred to as pricklegrass.
Hainardia is a genus of coastal plants in the grass family, native to the Mediterranean Basin.
Sporobolus virginicus, known by numerous common names including seashore dropseed, marine couch, sand couch, salt couch grass, saltwater couch, coastal rat-tail grass, and nioaka, is a species of grass with a wide distribution.
Muhlenbergia asperifolia is a species of grass known as alkali muhly and scratchgrass. It is native to much of North America, including most of southern Canada, most of the continental United States except for the southeastern region, and parts of northern Mexico. It also grows in South America.
Setaria verticillata is a species of grass known by the common names hooked bristlegrass, rough bristle-grass and bristly foxtail. It is native to Europe, but it is known on most continents as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It is a hardy bunchgrass which grows in many types of urban, cultivated, and disturbed habitat. It is a weed of many types of agricultural crops, growing in vineyards and fields. Herbicide-resistant strains have been noted.
Spartina densiflora is a species of grass known by the common name denseflower cordgrass. It has been reclassified as Sporobolus montevidensis after a taxonomic revision in 2014, but Spartina densiflora is still in common usage. It is native to the coastline of southern South America, where it is a resident of salt marshes. It is also known on the west coast of the North America and parts of the Mediterranean coast as an introduced species and in some areas a noxious weed. In California it is a troublesome invasive species of marshes in San Francisco Bay and in Humboldt Bay, where it was introduced during the 19th century from Chile in ballast.
Sporobolus foliosus is a species of grass known by the common name California cordgrass. It was reclassified from Spartina foliosa after a taxonomic revision in 2014. It is native to the salt marshes and mudflats of coastal California and Baja California, especially San Francisco Bay. It is a perennial grass growing from short rhizomes. It produces single stems or clumps of thick, fleshy stems that grow up to 1.5 meters tall. They are green or purple-tinged. The long, narrow leaves are flat or rolled inward. The inflorescence is a narrow, dense, spike-like stick of branches appressed together, the unit reaching up to 25 centimeters long. The lower spikelets are sometimes enclosed in the basal sheaths of upper leaves.
Sporobolus airoides is a species of grass known by the common name alkali sacaton. It is native to western North America, including the Western United States west of the Mississippi River, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, and northern and central Mexico. It grows in many types of habitat, often in alkali soils, such as in California desert regions.
Sporobolus cryptandrus is a species of grass known as sand dropseed. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in southern Canada, most of the United States, and northern Mexico.
Sporobolus flexuosus is a species of grass known by the common name mesa dropseed. It is native to western North America, where it can be found in the deserts and woodlands of the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico.
Sporobolus indicus is a species of grass known by the common name smut grass.
Sporobolus vaginiflorus is a species of grass known by the common names poverty grass, poverty dropseed, and sheathed dropseed.
Trisetum spicatum is a species of grass known by the common name spike trisetum and spike false oat. It is native to North America, Eurasia, and South America. In North America it occurs throughout northern regions, including northern sections of the United States and most all of Canada, its range continuing to Greenland. It is widespread throughout the Canadian Arctic Islands. The grass occurs in a variety of Arctic and alpine habitat types, as well as many types of mountainous habitat in regions farther south. It is a perennial grass forming clumps of erect stems ranging in height from just a few centimeters to over one meter. The narrow leaves are mostly located around the bases of the densely clumped stems. The inflorescence is a narrow spike a few centimeters long or up to 30 to 50 centimeters in maximum length. The spikes are green to purple or brownish and shiny.
Hilaria mutica, synonym Pleuraphis mutica, is a species of grass known by the common name tobosa, or tobosa grass. It is native to Northern Mexico, and the Southwestern United States, in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Sporobolus junceus is a species of grass known by the common name pineywoods dropseed. It is native to the southern United States.
Sporobolus texanus is a species of grass known by the common name Texas dropseed. It is native to the western United States.
Sporobolus wrightii is a species of grass known by the common names big sacaton and giant sacaton. It is native to the western United States and northern and central Mexico.
