Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Silver Plumegrass - Erianthus alopecuroides   (L.) Elliott
Members of Poaceae:
Members of Erianthus with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 5 » Family Poaceae
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Author(L.) Elliott
DistributionMostly the Piedmont and Sandhills; scattered in the low Mountains and the Coastal Plain.

NJ to IN, MO, and OK, south to FL and TX.
AbundanceFrequent in the Piedmont; uncommon elsewhere, though rare in the lower Coastal Plain.
HabitatMesic pine-oak-hickory-dogwood forests and woodlands, especially in openings and edges, fields, roadsides.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting September-October.
IdentificationIn this species and in E. giganteus, the lowermost inflorescence node is densely hairy (vs. glabrous in our other species) and the stem is appressed-pubescent below the inflorescence (vs. glabrous but may be pubescent on the nodes in other species). E. giganteus differs in its broadly elliptical inflorescence (when mature!) and lemma awn that is essentially round in cross-section and generally straight (vs. flattened in cross-section and twisted spirally in E. alopecuroides). That species (E. giganteus) favors wet to moist sites, as opposed to mostly in uplands in E. alopecuroides.
Taxonomic CommentsNamed as Saccharum alopecuroides by some references.

Plumegrasses are among our tallest grasses; several species reach 7-8 feet tall. The narrowly to broadly elliptical inflorescences stand erect well beyond the long, arching leaves. For proper ID, it is best to use mature spikelets. When immature, the inflorescences are tightly compact and slender; when mature, they relax and become elliptical in outline, and individual spikelets can be seen. Do not confuse these natives with the alien invasive Phragmites australis, which has much broader leaves and whose inflorescence branches are mostly swept to one side.
Other Common Name(s)None
State RankS4 [S4S5]
Global RankG5
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B.A. SorriePiedmont, roadside, Underwood Road, Aug 2015. MoorePhoto_natural
B.A. SorrieSandhills Game Land, loamy sandy soil, Nov 2018.
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