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Chasmanthium latifolium
Indian Woodoats
Synonym(s): Uniola latifolia
Florida native
An occassional grass of wet hammocks in the central and western panhandle, plus Suwannee and Nassau Counties. The range covers all of the southeastern United States, extending west into Arizona, northwest only as far as Kansas and Iowa, north to Michigan and Wisconsin and northeast into Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Chasmanthium latifolium reaches a height of one and a half meters, usually half of that is arching over. The lanceolate leaves are alternate and can be up to 2.5 cm wide and 20 cm long. The flattened spikelets of irregular flowers are green, turning to brown and hang in loose branched panicles at the top of the stems from late spring into the fall.
Indian woodoats makes an attractive landscape plant, preferring moist shaded areas, it is tolerant of drought, some salt and spreads rapidly.
Chasmanthium latifolium is a member of the Poaceae - Grass family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
Wildflowers of the Southeastern United States profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Aug 07, 2016
