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Sugarcane Plumegrass

Erianthus giganteus

Found in marshes, roadbanks, lake and pond margins, cypress ponds, wet pine flatwoods, ditches. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

40
Good

Native to Mississippi (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
3–8 feet
Spread
3–4 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 3.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 8 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

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At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
September to December
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Recorded in 38 Mississippi counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 4

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

29CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · Saccharum

  • Acrolophus heppneriHeppner's Grass-Tubeworm
  • Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
  • Agrotis malefidaRascal Dart, Pale-Sided Cut-Worm, Shagreened Cut-Worm
  • Amblyscirtes vialisCommon Roadside-Skipper, Black Little Skipper
  • Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
  • Atrytone byssusByssus Skipper, Golden Skipper
  • Calpodes ethliusBrazilian Skipper, Canna Skipper, Canna Leafroller
  • Diatraea crambidoidesSouthern Cornstalk Borer
  • Elaphria chalcedoniaChalcedony Midget
  • Elaphria festivoidesSouthern Festive Midget
Show all 29
  • Elaphria nucicoloraSugarcane Midget, Sugarcane Moth
  • Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
  • Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
  • Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
  • Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
  • Lerema acciusClouded Skipper, Corn Leaf tier
  • Lerodea eufalaEufala Skipper, Gray Skipper, Rice Leafroller
  • Lethe anthedonNorthern Pearly Eye
  • Leucania subpunctataWhite-Dotted Wainscot, Forage Armyworm
  • Meropleon cosmionComely Brocade
  • Mocis disseveransYellow Mocis
  • Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
  • Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
  • Nomophila nearcticaLucerne Moth, American Celery Webworm
  • Panoquina ocolaOcola Skipper, Long-Winged Skiiper
  • Polites othoSouthern Broken-Dash, Broken-Dash Skipper
  • Spodoptera albulaWhite-Spotted Armyworm, Gray-Streaked Armyworm
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Vernia vernaLittle Glassywing
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Poaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–10b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Brown/copper, yellow, gray/silver, pink or red
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Grows in clumps
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Giant Plume Grass; Saccharum giganteum; Sugarcane Plume Grass

Conservation status

Mississippi rankSNR
Global rankG5
MS statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources