Plant · P-1164

Indiangrass

Sorghastrum nutans

Indiangrass is a native tallgrass prairie grass that stays low and leafy most of the growing season, then throws up a golden bronze plume in late summer that turns deep orange to purple as autumn goes on. It thrives in the hottest part of the year, grazed and cut for hay, and keeps producing through heat and dry spells that stall cool-season pasture grasses. Its seed feeds birds and small mammals, and stands give nesting cover to gamebirds, songbirds and native bees. Sensitive to overgrazing, it needs a rest between cuttings to keep producing across its typical ten-to-fifteen-year stand life.