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Fakahatchee Grass

Tripsacum dactyloides

• ​Common Name: Fakahatchee Grass
• Scientific Name: Tripsacum dactyloides
  

• Family Name:  Gramineae
  
• Origin: South Florida
  
• Height:  3’ – 4’, to 6’ when in flower
  
• Width:  4’ – 6’
  
• Growth:  Moderate
  
• Zone:  8 to 11
  
• Light Needs:  Full sun, part shade
  
• Salt Tolerance:   Low
  
• Soil/PH/Texture:  Fine texture, acidic, slightly alkaline, sand
  
• Soil Moisture:  Moist, tolerant of standing water or flooding.
  
• Drought Tolerance: Moderate
  
• Pests/Diseases: No pests or diseases of major concern
  
• Growing Conditions:  easy to grow, low maintenance
  
• Characteristics:  Forms a dense, upright clump of 3-foot-long leaves. These flat blades of grass grow from a short, thick, underground rhizome.
  
• Propagation:  Seeds and division
  
• Wildlife:  Larval food for Byssus Skipper Butterfly
  
• Facts: Distinctive flowers spikes rise above the leaves on slender stems. Spikes have many tightly fused spikelet’s that take on the appearance of being ‘jointed’. When in flour the spikes appear to have golden grains of rice hanging from them.
  
• Designer Considerations: Useful to stabilize banks and steep slopes.  Also creates a nice edging along streams and ponds.

Fakahatchee Grass