Sporobolus wrightii
Giant Sacaton
Family: Poaceae
Large, coarse-stemmed perennial bunchgrass reaching 6’ or higher. Showy, branched feather-like seed heads are produced on slender stalks
The enormous ‘Windbreaker’ cultivar was selected and trialed at the Los Lunas experimental farm in New Mexico, and was chosen for its size, vigor, and hardiness. As the name denotes, it was selected to help the landscape as a windbreak.
Full sun to shady spots. Looks greener on irrigation, but in low lying areas where water collects in the landscape they can persist without extra irrigation when established.
This is an important habitat plant. Large seeded and loved by granivorous birds. Edible for humans as well, though collecting seeds is difficult. This grass provides a good forage for livestock, producing large amounts of green matter. It is an important species for grazers on grasslands in parts of Arizona. Native grasses are extremely important plants for wildlife: as nesting material for birds as well as native bees and other insects, as habitat for many organisms, and as food: adult insects eat the foliage, granivorous birds depend on many species for seeds, and most grass species are used as larval hosts for many species of butterflies and moths, especially skippers. Many bee species collect the pollen of many species of grasses. All can be used for desert tortoise enclosures.
Grasses also play an important role in the ecology of soil, and because they are monocots, they can be planted close to other species of plants (the nature of the root systems of monocots renders them less imposing on neighboring plants). They hold soil down and help prevent erosion. Many species are pioneer plants that convert disturbed soils into hospitable places for other plants.
Seeds made into meal for bread, for mush, and the stiff stems made into a brush to clean cacti spines.
The name for the genus comes from thje Greek words 'spora' meaning "seed" and 'ballein' meaning "to throw" alluding to the free seed and the manner of its release. The species, wrightii, honors William Greenwood Wright (1831-1912) a Californian lepidopterist and plant collector. The common name "sacaton" comes from the American Spanish words zacatón and zacate that was derived from the Aztec Nahuatl word zacatl, meaning "a coarse grass"
Found in southern California, Utah, Arizona, east to Oklahoma and Texas, south into southern Mexico at elevations from 2,000-6,500 ft. This plant grows in plains and desert grassland, shrubsteppe, and desert shrubland habitat. It may occur in desert wetland habitat types such as desert marshes, seasonal lakes, and floodplains. In this kind of habitat it is an important species for preventing erosion and slowing runoff by trapping sediments. It may be a common to prominent or dominant species. It dominates some grasslands in its native range, alongside other common grasses. This type of grassland has been reduced to a fraction of its pristine range by forces such as overgrazing and the channelization of water.
Inflorescence, near Portal. Photo by Sue Carnahan, iNaturalist
The enormous 'Windbreaker' selection which can grow up to 10' tall, photo by Mountain States Wholesale Nursery
Roadside sacaton, taking advantage of the extra water that sheets off the roads, Cochise County, Arizona. Photo by James Bailey, iNaturalist
Rare sacaton grassland vegetation type, San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. Photo by Liz Makings, SEINET