Sporobolus wrightii
Giant Sacaton

Family: Poaceae

Large, coarse-stemmed perennial bunchgrass reaching 6’ or higher. Showy, branched feather-like seed heads are produced on slender stalks

The enormous ‘Windbreaker’ cultivar was selected and trialed at the Los Lunas experimental farm in New Mexico, and was chosen for its size, vigor, and hardiness. As the name denotes, it was selected to help the landscape as a windbreak.

Full sun to shady spots. Looks greener on irrigation, but in low lying areas where water collects in the landscape they can persist without extra irrigation when established.

This is an important habitat plant. Large seeded and loved by granivorous birds. Edible for humans as well, though collecting seeds is difficult. This grass provides a good forage for livestock, producing large amounts of green matter. It is an important species for grazers on grasslands in parts of Arizona. Native grasses are extremely important plants for wildlife: as nesting material for birds as well as native bees and other insects, as habitat for many organisms, and as food: adult insects eat the foliage, granivorous birds depend on many species for seeds, and most grass species are used as larval hosts for many species of butterflies and moths, especially skippers. Many bee species collect the pollen of many species of grasses. All can be used for desert tortoise enclosures.

Grasses also play an important role in the ecology of soil, and because they are monocots, they can be planted close to other species of plants (the nature of the root systems of monocots renders them less imposing on neighboring plants). They hold soil down and help prevent erosion. Many species are pioneer plants that convert disturbed soils into hospitable places for other plants.

Seeds made into meal for bread, for mush, and the stiff stems made into a brush to clean cacti spines.

Sporobolus wrightii on SEINET
Photo by southwestwanderer on iNaturalist