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Smut-grass

Sporobolus indicus

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in low prairies and swales, roadsides, lawns, disturbed situations. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not scored

Native status: sources disagree, under review. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 65%

Height
Up to about 4 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual or perennial

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 60 Louisiana parishes.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 72 animals.

All wildlife of Louisiana

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA

Genus host records with ranges including LA · Sporobolus

  • Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
  • Panoquina panoquinoidesObscure Skipper, Beach Skipper
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
10BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Sporobolus

  • Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
  • Ammospiza leconteiiLeConte's Sparrow
  • Calcarius ornatusChestnut-collared Longspur
  • Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
  • Catharus fuscescensVeery
  • Euphagus cyanocephalusBrewer's Blackbird
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
  • Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Poaceae
Flower color
White or green

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Smut Grass Dropseed; Smut grass; Sporobolus poiretii

Conservation status

Louisiana rankSNA
Global rankG5
LA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources