Cladium jamaicense
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Sawgrass
Cyperaceae
Plant Specifics
| Form: | Grass | |
| Size: | 3-6 (10) ft tall by wide-spreading ft wide | |
| Life Span: | Long-lived perennial | |
| Flower Color: | Green | |
| Fruit Color: | Brown | |
| Phenology: | Evergreen | |
| Noted for: | - |
Landscaping
| Recommended Uses: | Typically used in wetland restoration. Also useful for planting in brackish settings where an emergent aquatic is desired. Spreads rapidly to cover large areas. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Considerations: | Blades have sharp edges...hence the common name. Best planted where people will not brush by it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Propagation: | Division, seed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Availability: | Native nurseries, Seed, Specialty providers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light: | Full Sun, Part Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
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| (Stays Wet ----- to ----- Somewhat moist, no flooding) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: | Stays Wet ----- to ----- Somewhat moist, no flooding | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Water Flooding Tolerance: | Tolerant of inundation with brackish water | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance: | High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and salt spray without injury. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil or other substrate: | Clay, Loam, Organic material (muck), Lime rock, Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil pH: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ecology
| Wildlife: |
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| Insects: | Larval host of the Palatka skipper (Euphyes pilatka). | |
| Native Habitats: | Swamps, marshes, shores of water bodies, common in coastal marsh, glades, cypress prairie. |
Distribution and Planting Zones
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
10A 10B 11 8A 8B 9A 9B
USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures
Comments
| General Comments: | Sawgrass is a sedge, not a grass. It was this plant that Marjory Stoneman Douglas referred to in her seminal work: "The Everglades: River of Grass." A second species (C. mariscoides) occurs in a limited area in north Florida. Its uses and culture are similar. |