''Chasmanthium latifolium'', known as northern wood-oats, inland sea oats, northern sea oats, and river oats is a species of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

native to the central and eastern United States, Manitoba, and northeastern Mexico; it grows as far north as Pennsylvania and Michigan, where it is a threatened species. The species was previously classified as ''

Uniola ''Uniola'' is a genus of New World plants in the grass family. ; Species * '' Uniola condensata'' Hitchc. - Ecuador * ''Uniola paniculata'' L. – sea oats - coastal regions in southeastern United States (TX LA MS AL GA FL NC SC ...

latifolia'' ( André Michaux).

Description

''Chasmanthium latifolium'' is a warm-season, rhizomatous,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

grass with stems about 1 m feettall. The plant typically grows in wooded areas and riparian zones.

Gardens

It is used in landscaping in North America, where it is noted as a relatively rare native grass that thrives in partial shade; the plant is recommended for

USDA hardiness zones A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

3–9 in acidic sands, loams, and clays.

Ecology

It is a larval host plant for the

Northern Pearly-Eye ''Lethe anthedon'', the northern pearly-eye, is a species of butterfly of the subfamily Satyrinae in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in North America, from central Saskatchewan and eastern Nebraska east to Nova Scotia, south to central Alaba ...

, and its seeds are food for birds and mammals. It is also eaten by the caterpillars of the pepper and salt skipper, Bell's roadside skipper, and bronzed roadside skipper butterflies.

References

External links

USDA Plant Profile ''Chasmanthium latifolium''
Panicoideae Grasses of Mexico Grasses of the United States Flora of Northeastern Mexico Flora of the Eastern United States Flora of the United States Flora of the South-Central United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Plants described in 1803 Taxa named by André Michaux Garden plants of North America Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Panicoideae-stub