Smooth Cordgrass (Spartina spp.)

Smooth cordgrass, native to the U.S. Atlantic coast, is considered an invasive species on the Pacific coast. This medium to large salt-loving grass is commonly found in tidal flats, salt marshes, and coastal areas across Florida. It flowers from summer to fall and is almost always found (99% probability) in natural wetland conditions. Its roots are favored by snow geese for food.

Elliott's Lovegrass (Eragrostis elliottii)

Elliott's lovegrass is a resilient grass that thrives in flatwoods, sandhills, and prairies from summer to fall. Florida is home to 30 varieties and species of Eragrostis, with Elliott's lovegrass growing from Pensacola to Miami. This drought-tolerant plant is ideal for xeriscaping and helps prevent soil erosion. It flourishes in full sun to partial shade and prefers sandy soil, whether moist or dry.

Fakahatchee Grass (Tripsacum dactyloides )

Fakahatchee Grass is easy to cultivate and virtually free from pests, making it an attractive choice with its lush green foliage forming fountain-like clumps. It can reach up to 5 feet in height and 4 feet in width. The leaves stand erect, up to 6 feet long and about 1 inch wide. Distinctive flowers emerge in late spring to mid-summer, towering over the leaves on slender stems. This grass remains evergreen in subtropical regions, turning shades of red and bronze when exposed to frost.

Florida Gamma Grass (Tripsacum floridana)

Florida Gamma Grass is a native accent grass that serves as an excellent groundcover in open, dry areas when planted in groups. It's a striking addition to wildflower and rock gardens. This grass reaches about 2-3 feet in height and up to 4 feet when flowering, with a spread roughly equal to its height. Florida Gamma Grass is found from Monroe, Miami-Dade, and Collier counties southward to the pine rocklands of Big Pine Key.

Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)

Muhly Grass, native to Texas and Florida, is an ornamental clumping grass that grows to 3 feet in height and width. With its flower spikes, it reaches 4 feet in height and width. The deep pinkish-red inflorescence is loose and open, giving the plant tops a feathery or cotton candy appearance, lasting up to two months. The inflorescence is particularly striking when backlit by the early morning or late afternoon sun.

Panic Grass (Panicum virgatum)

Panic Grass is a native perennial grass that forms tufts at the base, with multiple erect to spreading culms up to 2½ feet long. The culms are green to reddish-green and round, branching occasionally to produce side stems. Each node has a dense ring of long white hairs, and the culms may be reddish near the nodes. The narrow lanceolate leaves are up to 3½ inches long and nearly ½ inch across, green and flat, with the upper surface either hairless or sparsely covered in short white hairs. The lower surface is more hairy, and the leaf sheaths are green, ribbed, and densely covered in long white hairs.

Purple Lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis)

Purple Lovegrass is a perennial grass weed with rhizomes, featuring a large, open, purple-colored panicle. It is primarily found in pastures, hayfields, and noncrop areas throughout the southeastern United States. The leaf sheaths are round and hairy, particularly around the collar region. The distinctive purple panicle, low-growing habit, rhizomes, and hairy leaves near the collar region help to distinguish purple lovegrass from other grass weeds.

River Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)

River Oats, also known as Spangle Grass, Wildoats, and Broadleaf Uniola, is an inland relative of sea oats that naturally stabilize sand dunes along the east coast and Gulf of Mexico. It prefers wetlands, flood zones, stream banks, and low meadows as its habitat. Found throughout the Escambia region, its flowers appear from June to October, featuring drooping panicles of dangling flat spikelet clusters in "V" shaped pairs on thin, flexible stems.

Wiregrass (Aristida stricta var. beyrichiana)

Wiregrass, also known as pineland threeawn, is a common grass in the southern pine flatwoods and upland sandhills. It is a favored food of gopher tortoises and quail and provides valuable cover for many birds, reptiles, and small mammals. Young plants may also be used as forage by livestock. Wiregrass is a perennial bunch grass that grows in dense, spreading tufts, reaching heights of 1½' to 3'. The leaves are long, thin, wiry, or needle-like with tufts of fine, white fuzz around the leaf base.