Sporobolus airoides , or Alkali dropseed, is a warm-season, perennial, ornamental bunchgrass native to western and central United States and often found in saline flats, prairies and sands, and meadows and valleys with moderately saline soils (hence the alkali common name). Alkali dropseed will grow in most soil types, including saline soils, and prefers dry or moist soil. It cannot grow in the shade and is pollinated by the wind. Alkali dropseed tolerates flooding, drought, and saline-alkaline conditions. It is good for dust control and soil protection on saline-alkaline soils with limited moisture availability. The plant grows in large, tough bunches to a height of 6 feet with narrow gray-green leaves that turn yellow in fall and light tan in winter. It produces abundant seeds and the graceful, open seedhead is composed of tiny, reddish spikelets. The seeds are edible; raw or cooked, and can be parched, ground into a flour and eaten dry or made into a mush. This seed has been known to be used by the Hopi Indians as a famine food, only used when all else fails. The stem is thick and woody at the base. This is a valuable grass for revegetation projects in disturbed habitats, especially in the western United States. Insects, Diseases, and Other Problems: No known problems.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 20 ft. 8 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Erect; Mounding
Texture
Fine
Leaf color
Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Linear
Leaf value
Long-lasting; Showy
Leaf size
> 6 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Twenty-four inch gray-green leaves turn yellow in fall and light tan in winter.
Fall color
Cream/Tan; Gold/Yellow
Flower color
Cream/Tan; Gold/Yellow; Gray/Silver; Pink
Flower value
Fragrant; Good Dried; Long Bloom Season
Flower form
Panicle
Flower detail
Open panicles in summer, strong pink cast, dries to silver. Blooms from mid-summer to late fall. Blossoms are long and generally wide open and spreading, bearing yellow spikelets with purplish bases.