''Sporobolus'' is a nearly cosmopolitan

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of plants in the grass family. The name ''Sporobolus'' means "seed-thrower", and is derived from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

word (), meaning "seed", and the root of () "to throw", referring to the dispersion of seeds. Members of the genus are usually called dropseeds or sacaton grasses. They are typical

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

and

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

plants, occurring in other types of open habitat in warmer climates. At least one species ('' S. caespitosus'' from Saint Helena) is threatened with extinction, and another ('' S. durus'' from

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overs ...

) is

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

Uses

While some dropseeds, such as prairie dropseed (''Sporobolus heterolepis''), make nice

gardening Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of Aesthetics, aesthetically pleasing area ...

plants, they are generally considered to make inferior

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

s, but seeds of at least some

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are edible and nutritious; they were used as food, for example, by the Chiricahua Apaches. Other species are reported to be used as famine foods, such as '' Sporobolus indicus'' in parts of the

Oromia Region Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, where it is known as ''muriy'' in Oromiffa. Known as ''popote de cambray'', ''Sporobolus'' grasses are used in popotillo art or straw mosaics, a Mexican folk art with pre-Columbian origins. The 1889 book ''The Useful Native Plants of Australia'' records that ''Sporobolus actinocladus'' is a "Perennial; seeds in October and November. A much esteemed pasture grass of the back country, common on rich loamy soil; stock of all kinds are very fond of it."

Ecology

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s of the small

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

'' Bucculatrix sporobolella'' have only been found on alkali sacaton (''Sporobolus airoides''). The Laysan dropseed noctuid moth (''Hypena laysanensis'') on Laysan Island apparently became

with the local eradication of '' S. virginicus'' by feral

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

s. Seed-eating birds including American sparrows (genus '' Aimophila'') feed on sacaton seeds. '' S. wrightii'' is a critical resource for Botteri's sparrow (''Aimophila botterii'') which at one time was extirpated from

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Selected species

About 160 species are placed in the genus, including: This list does not include numerous species moved from other genera to ''Sporobolus'' after a 2014 taxonomic revision, including species in ''

Crypsis In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an animal or a plant to avoid observation or detection by other animals. It may be part of a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation. Methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean life ...

'', ''

Eragrostis ''Eragrostis'' is a large and widespread genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family, found in many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands. ''Eragrostis'' is commonly known as lovegrass or canegrass. The name of the genus is de ...

'', '' Thellungia'', '' Calamovilfa'', and ''

Spartina ''Spartina'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, frequently found in coastal salt marshes. Species in this genus are commonly known as cordgrass or cord-grass, and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Eu ...

''. Numerous species have been moved from ''Sporobolus'' to other genera: ''

Agrostis ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a Genetically modified organis ...

'', '' Arctagrostis'', ''

'', '' Mosdenia'', '' Muhlenbergia'', ''

Poa ''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of Poaceae, grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some New Zealand spe ...

'', '' Sacciolepis'', '' Thysanolaena'', and '' Urochondra''. Sporobolus fertilis nezuminoo

Starr 040711-0055 Sporobolus pyramidatus

References

{{Authority control Poaceae genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot