Overview
Florida pineland crabgrass is also known as Everglades grass or twospike crabgrass, and only occurs in the Everglades in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. This blue-green perennial clumpgrass grows in pine rocklands, marl prairie, cypress habitat, and transitional habitats between them. It reaches 3 feet tall in clumps 3 feet wide with densely hairy leaves up to 5 inches long.
Threats
The primary threats to the Florida pineland crabgrass are habitat destruction, fragmentation, and modification due to development, fire suppression, invasive plants, and sea level rise. Pine Rocklands are a globally imperiled ecosystem.
Scientific Name
Identification Numbers
Characteristics
Habitat
The Florida pineland crabgrass grows within the seasonally flooded transitional areas, or ecotones, of pine rocklands, marl prairies, and cypress habitat.
Life Cycle
Florida pineland crabgrass produces flowers and fruits from summer to late fall on both new and older growth.
Florida pineland crabgrass can reproduce sexually, and clonally through rhizomes and vegetative spread.
Physical Characteristics
The Florida pineland crabgrass is a distinctly blue-green clumping perennial grass that grows up to 3 feet tall and up to 3 feet wide with densely hairy 5 inches-long leaves. Plants can also form short rhizomes. The distinct color combined with the abundance of hairs makes the plants stand out from all surrounding vegetation, almost glowing when the light hits them. Mature plants typically have a large basal tuft of bright, blue-green leaves with erect to drooping flowering stems with exposed internodes that are typically reddish. Very small dull green flowers are borne along paired spikes on the ends of the flowering stems, with usually only a few flower clusters forming per clump of grass.
Geography
Florida pineland crabgrass can only be found within the boundaries of Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. The historical range of Florida pineland crabgrass includes southern Florida, including central and southern Miami-Dade County along the Miami Rock Ridge, from southern Miami to Long Pine Key region of Everglades National Park and into Big Cypress National Preserve in Monroe County.
Timeline
Explore the information available for this taxon's timeline. You can select an event on the timeline to view more information, or cycle through the content available in the carousel below.
36 Items