North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Erianthus alopecuroides

Erianthus alopecuroides (L.) Elliott

silver plume grass

Image ID: 14312
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: ERAL2
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Erianthus alopecuroides
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-09-25

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE:
GENUS SCIENTIFIC:
GENUS AUTHORITY:
GENUS COMMON:
GENUS SUMMARY:
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES:

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: POACEA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Poaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: (R. Brown) Barnhart 1895 or GRAMINEAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Grass Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 771 genera and 12,074 species, herbs (and some shrubs and trees), cosmopolitan. Tribal classification largely follows FNA (2003a, 2007a), with some changes based on subsequent research, as for instance in the Chloridoideae (Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson 2010a).
FAMILY REFERENCE: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a, 2007a)=FNA; Hitchcock and Chase (1950)=HC; Blomquist (1948); Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson (2010a, 2010b). Key to genera adapted in large part from FNA.

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 3-9 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Grass/Grasslike

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Sep-Oct

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
								x	x

BLOOM COLOR: white, silver

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: southeastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Silver Plume Grass is one of the more striking southeastern native grasses. This commanding species can reach heights of up to nine feet. It is related to several other Erianthus species that are called sugarcane and are used to produce sugar. In the autumn, its tall flowering stalks are topped with feathery silver panicles of flowers and then seeds. This ornamental species can be found at the edges of damp woods and fields. In a cultivated setting, this perennial grass can add grace to a border or provide height and movement when planted in clumps.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 6
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 10
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly, Bird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
397	2011-0289	2011-12-22	401	View
3245	1990-0094			View
3342	1990-0213			View
4429	1992-0585			View
5783	1995-0909			View
8127	2004-0136	2006-05-19		View
9445	2021-0104	2021-07-09	0	View

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
401	HORT	2009-11-06	Poythress	View
838	SOS	2016-11-09	Dakar	View
874	SOS	2016-11-20	Dakar	View
891	SOS	2016-11-18	Faucette	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
943	397	21	NCBG staff	2010-10-01	View
5416	3245	8	NCBG staff	1986-04-08	View
5561	3342	27	NCBG staff	1989-11-20	View
5562	3342	27	NCBG staff	1989-11-20	View
5563	3342	143	NCBG staff	1989-11-20	View
6757	4429	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
8297	5783	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
11380	8127	143	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
11381	8127	200	NCBG staff	2003-03-03	View
12665	0	19	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
12685	0	16	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
12810	0	15	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
12822	0	18	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
12836	9445	21	Liloia	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: ERAL2
USDA Common Name:
Native Status:
Distribution:
Duration:
Growth Habit:

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Erianthus alopecuroides
COMMON NAME: Silver Plume Grass
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, G, GW, HC, RAB, W, WV; = Saccharum alopecuroides (Linnaeus) Nuttall - FNA, K2, Va, WH3, Z; = Saccharum alopecuroideum (Linnaeus) Nuttall - Z, orthographic variant; = Saccharum alopecuroidum - K, orthographic variant; = Erianthus divaricatus (Linnaeus) A.S. Hitchcock - S]
PHENOLOGY: Sep-Oct.
HABITAT: Dry to moist fields, roadsides, woodlands, and woodland borders.
COMMENTS: NJ west to IN, IL, MO, and OK, south to FL and TX.
RANGE MAP: Erianthus alopecuroides.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Poaceae (R. Brown) Barnhart 1895 or GRAMINEAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Grass Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 771 genera and 12,074 species, herbs (and some shrubs and trees), cosmopolitan. Tribal classification largely follows FNA (2003a, 2007a), with some changes based on subsequent research, as for instance in the Chloridoideae (Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson 2010a).
REFERENCE: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a, 2007a)=FNA; Hitchcock and Chase (1950)=HC; Blomquist (1948); Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson (2010a, 2010b). Key to genera adapted in large part from FNA.

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
()
SUMMARY:
REFERENCE:

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Erianthus alopecuroides in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Erianthus alopecuroides in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Erianthus alopecuroides in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Erianthus alopecuroides in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Erianthus alopecuroides in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Erianthus alopecuroides

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 14312 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 14312 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 14312 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 35299 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)