Tripsacum dactyloides

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Eastern Gamagrass, Fakahatchee Grass

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

Recommended Uses:

Hedge, individual large grass clump, background screen for a flower garden.

Considerations:

Can die back and become messy during cold winters.

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

(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

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.

Suitable to grow in:
10A 10B 8A 8B 9A 9B

USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures

General Comments:

In a managed garden, gamagrass can be trimmed back at the end of winter.