FNPS Plant Database

Tripsacum dactyloides

eastern gamagrass, Fakahatchee grass
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Ginny Stibolt, Ixia Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

eastern gamagrass, Fakahatchee grass

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Tripsacum dactyloides

Family:

Poaceae (Gramineae)

Plant Specifics

Form:

Grass

Size:

4–6 ft tall by 2–4 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

yellow, orange, red

Fruit Color:

yellow, brown

Phenology:

Evergreen. Clump-forming. Blooms spring-fall

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Showy Fruits

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Hedge, foundation planting, individual large grass clump, background screen for a flower garden. Rain garden or bioswale.

Considerations:

Can die back and become messy during cold winters, but new growth covers it in the spring.

Availability:

Quality Nurseries, Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales, Seed

Propagation:

Readily self-seeds, seeds are easily collected by bagging the seed heads once the delicate flowers have been pollinated and drop off.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Soil pH:

5.1–7.5

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

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Vouchered In:

Distribution
Vouchered
Not vouchered
Selected
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No county distribution is available for this plant yet.
Starting…
Map coded by Melissa Fernandez-de Cespedes (Paynes Prairie Chapter)

Ecology

Wildlife:

Caterpillars, Birds, Mammals

Larval host for Three-spotted Skipper (Cymaenes tripunctus), Clouded Skipper (Lerema accius) and Byssus Skipper (Problema byssus).

Even when trimmed occasionally, Gama Grass will provide cover for small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Deer eat the seeds.

Native Habitats:

Wet bogs, roadsides, ditches, wet hammocks, river banks, low thickets, pine woods, open swamps, open habitats, flatwoods, sandhill, scrub. Also cultivated

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

In a managed garden, gamagrass can be trimmed back at the end of winter.
FNPS Plant Print

Citations:

Huegel, Craig N. (2012). Native Wildflowers and Other Ground Covers for Florida Landscapes. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.


Minno, Marc, and Maria Minno. (1999). Florida Butterfly Gardening: A Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Butterflies. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.


Minno, M., J. Butler, and D. Hall. (2005). Florida Butterfly Caterpillars and Their Host Plants. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.


Nelson, Gil. (2003). Florida's Best Landscape Plants: 200 Readily Available Species for Homeowners and Professionals. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.


Osorio, Rufino. (2001). A Gardener's Guide to Florida's Native Plants. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.


Stibolt, Giny. Personal observation: " Tripsacum dactyloides IS salt tolerant. I had it growing in Maryland right at the shoreline in the Brackish Chesapeake Bay and this sunrise photo is on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville where the river is also brackish as the tides roll in from the Atlantic. Mesohaline (14.5 parts per 1000) according to the map in this article: http://sjrr.domains.unf.edu/2-8-salinity/ I took [the photo on the FNPS website] at JAX NAS (Jacksonville Naval Air Station) inside the [Interstate] 295 beltway, well into the bright green area. Yes, it’s not growing right in the flats, but only about a foot higher and this river floods often enough that it wouldn’t grow there if it were not salt tolerant."


Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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