Tripsacum dactyloides
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Eastern Gamagrass, Fakahatchee Grass
Poaceae (Gramineae)
Plant Specifics
| Form: | Grass | |
| Size: | 4 to 6 ft tall by 2 to 4 ft wide | |
| Life Span: | Long-lived perennial | |
| Flower Color: | Yellow,orange,red | |
| Fruit Color: | Yellow,brown | |
| Phenology: | Evergreen. Clump-forming. Blooms spring-fall. | |
| Noted for: | Showy flowers, Showy fruits |
Landscaping
| Recommended Uses: | Hedge, foundation planting, individual large grass clump, background screen for a flower garden. Rain garden or bioswale. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Considerations: | Can die back and become messy during cold winters, but new growth covers it in the spring. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Propagation: | Readily self-seeds, seeds are easily collected by bagging the seed heads once the delicate flowers have been pollinated and drop off. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Availability: | Native nurseries, FNPS plant sales, Quality nurseries, Seed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light: | Full Sun, Part Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
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| (Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Not wet but not extremely dry) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: | Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Not wet but not extremely dry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Water Flooding Tolerance: | Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance: | Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil or other substrate: | Loam, Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil pH: | 5.1 to 7.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ecology
| Wildlife: |
Even when trimmed occasionally, Gama Grass will provide cover for small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Deer eat the seeds. | |
| Insects: | Larval host for three-spotted skipper (Cymaenes tripunctus), clouded skipper (Lerema accius) and Byssusskipper (Problema byssus) (Minno and Minno, 1999). | |
| Native Habitats: | Wet bogs, roadsides, ditches, wet hammocks, river banks, low thickets, pine woods, open swamps, open habitats, flatwoods, sandhill, scrub. Also cultivated. |
Distribution and Planting Zones
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
10A 10B 8A 8B 9A 9B
USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures
Comments
| General Comments: | In a managed garden, gamagrass can be trimmed back at the end of winter. |