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Composite dropseed

Sporobolus compositus

Also called Rough Dropseed, Tall Dropseed

Composite dropseed
Photo: USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canad, Public domain

A tall, native North American prairie bunchgrass, 2 to 4 feet high, common on the Great Plains. Grow it in full sun in well-drained soil and it needs little care once established.

Family
Poaceae (Grass family)
Grows as
Grass
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly until established, then rely mostly on rainfall.
Soil
Well-drained soil, tolerant of poor and dry soils.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; suited to temperate climates.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Native range
N. America
Climate
temperate

About

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.

It flowers from August to September. The name derives from the readily falling grain. Dropseed has little value as food; its palatability decreases with its age.

Other Sporobolus plants

Cumberland sandreed · Giant sandreed · Sporobolus schoenoides · Modest prickle grass · Pricklegrass · Swamp Canegrass · Sporobolus cynosuroides · Sporobolus pumilus · Sporobolus michauxianus · Sporobolus spartinae · Sporobolus × townsendii · Cordgrass

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sporobolus compositus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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