NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Sorghastrum nutans

Yellow Indiangrass, Prairie Indiangrass

Scientific Name:	Sorghastrum nutans
Genus:	Sorghastrum
Species Epithet:	nutans
Common Name:	Yellow Indiangrass, Prairie Indiangrass
Plant Type	Grass/Sedge/Rush
Life Cycle	Perennial
Plant Family	Poaceae (Grass Family)
Native/Alien:	NC Native
Invasive Status:	^(*Key)
Size:	6-12 ft.
Bloom Color(s):	Yellow
Light:	Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day
Soil Moisture:	Dry, Moist
Bloom Time:	August, September, October
Growing Area:	Mountains, Piedmont, Sandhills, Coastal Plain
Habitat Description:	Xeric and mesic woodlands and forests of a wide variety, powerline rights-of-way, roadbanks. Uncommon in NC mountains, common in piedmont, sandhills, and coastal plain.
Leaf Arrangement:	Alternate, Basal
Leaf Retention:	Deciduous
Leaf Type:	Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like
Leaf Form:	Simple
Life Cycle:	Perennial
Wildlife Value:	Important for Wildlife
Landscape Value:	Highly Recommended and Available
State Rank:	S5: Secure ^(*Key)
Global Rank:	G5 - Secure ^(*Key)
Notes:	Best in natural meadows. A major species of the tallgrass prairie. Cultivars available.
Flowering in summer. Notice the glaucous, blueish, color of the leaves and culms. garden in Orange County, NC Bettina Darveaux
Close-up of inflorescence with bright yellow anthers and pinkish-colored feathery stigmas garden in Orange County, NC Bettina Darveaux
The glaucous stems and leaves give the plant a bluish color. Jackson County, NC, this plant was seeded in the site. Bettina Darveaux
Links:	USDA PLANTS Database Record https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/plant_list.php https://nc.audubon.org/700 https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/sorghastrum-nutans/ https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/sorghastrum/nutans/