Big Sacaton
Sporobolus wrightii
Big sacaton is a large, fountain-like bunchgrass of Southwestern swales and grasslands, a bold specimen that provides cover and binds soil on heavy or alkaline ground. The seed has been parched and ground into flour, historically an important famine food for the Hopi.
- Family
- Poaceae
- Type
- grass
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 5.5–5.5 ft
- Spacing
- 2–4 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- songbirds, larval host, mammals
- Landscape uses
- specimen, naturalizing
- Native states
- AZ, CA, NM, OK, SC, TX, UT
Related native plants
More Sporobolus species
- Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)
- Sand Dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus)
- Alkali Sacaton (Sporobolus airoides)
- Mesa Dropseed (Sporobolus flexuosus)