Sugarcane Plumegrass
Sugarcane plumegrass (Saccharum giganteum) is a dramatically tall wetland bunch grass often reaching 10 feet or more. Equally dramatic are the 6-to-16-inch-tall flower panicles that sit atop erect stems and rival nonnative pampas grass. The showy plumes may be brown/copper, gold/yellow, gray/silver/white, pink, or red/burgundy. Sugarcane plumegrass is a native cousin to cultivated sugarcane from which sugar is made. It is a host plant for several skippers and the common wood-nymph. It provides year-round cover and birds may eat the seeds. Also called giant plumegrass, its range includes the eastern and southeastern U.S. It grows throughout Florida in freshwater marshes, swamps, ponds, lakes, bogs, and swales. It is easily seen now in very wet places in Wakulla County including roadsides and dikes in St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.