Florida Gamagrass
Tripsacum floridanum
Florida Gamagrass is also known as Dwarf Fakahatchee Grass. It is naturally found in the Pine Rocklands of Dade and Monroe Counties. It is not tolerant of salt water or air, yet is very drought tolerant once established.
This picture is of planted Florida Gamagrass along the edge of occasionally flooded pinelands on our property. The soil is nutrient poor and floods for up to three weeks, yet is moist to dry most of the year.
The leaves spread out into a wide mound that is under two feet tall and has numerous nut like seeds on three foot or less stalks. Birds eat the seeds which form in the spring.
The old leaves will need to be pulled or burned off when they build up to an unsightly level. These old leaves, which hold disease, may smoother and kill the plant. Otherwise the plants will live for many years.
This is a larval host for the Byssus Skipper, which uses Eastern Gamagrass too in other areas of the country. This is an endangered butterfly and should be provided more places to reproduce. Click for more info..
This, Lopsided Indiangrass and a number of Andropogon species make nice clumps that can be inter planted with wildflowers. Personally, I like to plant this grass near pine trees where they get almost full sun and a raised, drier area to grow on. Masses look nice too though.
Try blending with Muhly grass, Fakahatchee Grass, Scrub Goldenrod, Saw Palmetto, Coontie, Tetrazygia, Winged Sumac, Lopsided Indiangrass, Key’s Porterweed, Snow Squarestem and other Pine Rockland plants.