| Sporobolus cryptandrus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Growing on a roadside near Alzada, Montana | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Sporobolus |
| Species: | S. cryptandrus |
| Binomial name | |
| Sporobolus cryptandrus | |
Sporobolus cryptandrus is a species of grass known as sand dropseed. [1] It is native to North America, where it is widespread in southern Canada, most of the United States, and northern Mexico.
Sporobolus cryptandrus is a perennial bunchgrass forming a tuft of stems growing up to a meter long, erect to decumbent in form. The stem bases are thick but not hard or woody. The leaves are up to 26 cm (10 in) long and rough-haired along the margins. Some stand out from the stems in a perpendicular fashion. The inflorescence is dense and narrow when new, spreading out and becoming diffuse, with some branches sticking straight out, with age. The base of the inflorescence is often sheathed within the top leaf, which spreads out beside it. The grass produces abundant seeds; an individual inflorescence is capable of bearing 10,000 seeds. [2] [3]
Sand dropseed is a common grass in many types of North American prairies and grows in a wide variety of other habitats, including disturbed areas such as roadsides.
The seeds of this grass provide food for small birds and mammals, including scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) and black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). [4]
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 compositus, the composite dropseed or tall dropseed, is a native North American prairie grass growing from two to four feet tall. Also called rough dropseed and meadow dropseed, it is common on the Great Plains, and found in most states in the United States.
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.
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.
Sporobolus michauxianus is a species of cordgrass known as prairie cordgrass, freshwater cordgrass, tall marshgrass, and sloughgrass. It is native to much of North America, including central and eastern Canada and most of the contiguous United States except for the southwestern and southeastern regions. Its distribution extends into Mexico. It is also present on other continents as an introduced species.
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 contractus is a species of grass known by the common name spike dropseed. It is native to western North America, including the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It grows in desert and plateau habitat, in woodlands, scrub, and dry, sandy, open areas.
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.
Mirabilis macfarlanei is a rare species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family known by the common name MacFarlane's four o'clock. It is native to Idaho and Oregon in the United States, where it is only known from three river canyons. It faces a number of threats and is federally listed as a threatened species of the United States.
Dalea purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known as purple prairie clover. Native to central North America, purple prairie clover is a relatively common member of the Great Plains and prairie ecosystems. It blooms in the summer with dense spikes of bright purple flowers that attract many species of insects.
Calamovilfa longifolia is a species of grass known by the common names prairie sandreed and sand reedgrass. It is native to North America, where it occurs from the Northwest Territories to Ontario in Canada and as far south as New Mexico and Kansas in the United States. There are two varieties, var. longifolia being widespread in the species' range and var. magna being native to the Great Lakes region.
Elymus lanceolatus is a species of grass known by the common names thickspike wheatgrass and streamside wheatgrass. It is native to North America, where it is widespread and abundant in much of Canada and the western and central United States. There are two subspecies, subsp. lanceolatus occurring throughout the species' range and subsp. psammophilus occurring in the Great Lakes region.
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 spartinae is a species of grass known by the common names gulf cordgrass and sacahuista. It is native to the Americas, where it occurs from the Gulf Coast of the United States south to Argentina.
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.