| Author | Weakley & P.M. Peterson | |
| Distribution | Southern Coastal Plain and Sandhills -- ranging north to Greene, Harnett, and Moore counties.
Endemic to the Coastal Plain, NC to southeastern GA. | |
| Abundance | Uncommon on the landscape, though it may be locally abundant. | |
| Habitat | Wet to mesic Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass savannas and flatwoods, blackwater streamhead ecotones, and adjacent shallow slopes. Occurs in damp acidic soils in association with pine stands. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting June-September. Responds positively to fire by flowering profusely. | |
| Identification | Carolina Dropseed is a tussock-former, the tussocks resembling Carolina Wiregrass (Aristida stricta) but are always greener in color (especially noticeable in late summer-fall). The leaves are flat and 1.2-2.5 mm wide, versus involute and a maximum of 1.2 mm wide in Wireleaf Dropseed (S. teretifolius) and Wiregrass. Note that the leaves will become folded lengthwise during extended drought and thus superficially resemble leaves of Wireleaf Dropseed. Note also that neither S. curtissii nor S. floridanus have been verified for NC; see Weakley (2018) for key characters. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Carolina Dropseed was overlooked or misidentified as other dropseeds (mostly S. teretifolius) until the 1990s.
Recent molecular research suggests that Calamovilfa and Spartina are nested deeply within Sporobolus. Weakley (2020) proposes that they remain split until a long-term solution is found, as their members are monophyletic. | |
| Other Common Name(s) | Savanna Dropseed | |
| State Rank | S3 | |
| Global Rank | G3 | |
| State Status | W1 | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FACW link |
| USACE-emp | FACW link |
