← Bedfellow

Sand Dropseed

Sporobolus cryptandrus

Fine-textured grass whose flower heads emerge half-wrapped in the leaf sheath, then open into a fountain. A pioneer that quickly knits disturbed, sandy soil. The seed has been parched and ground into flour, or cooked into a mush.

Family

Poaceae

Type

grass

Lifespan

perennial

Height

3–3 ft

Spacing

1–2 ft apart

Light

sun, part shade

Soil moisture

dry, moist

Soil pH

neutral, alkaline

Bloom

May, June, July, August, September, October, November

Bloom colors

yellow

Wildlife value

songbirds

Landscape uses

specimen, border, naturalizing

Native states

AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WY