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Index / Search / Sporobolus cryptandrus

§1 Plant

Sporobolus cryptandrus (Torr.) A. Gray

vernacular sand dropseed — species · Poaceae

USDA
SPCR
GBIF
2704769
Rank
species
sand dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus)
Platephotograph · Keir MorseCC BY-NC-ND source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Graminoid
Duration
Perennial
Group
Monocot
Family
Poaceae Barnhart
Genus
Sporobolus
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b

County-level range

· 942 counties across 38 states/territories
Legend Native · 942 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
High
Shade
High
Moisture use
Low
Fire
Medium
Salinity
Medium
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
Medium
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-38 °F minimum
Frost-free days
150 min.
Precipitation
8–16 in/yr
pH range
6.6–8
Root depth
18 in min.
Fertility need
Low
Soil texture
coarse, medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Bunch
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Short
Mature height
3 ft
Foliage texture
Fine
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Porous
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Yellow
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Late Summer
Seed abundance
High
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Rapid
Stratify
No
Seeds / lb
5,600,080
Propagation
seed
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Medium
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 942 counties across 38 states/territories.

Arizona view state ↗ 15 N ▾
Arkansas view state ↗ 9 N ▾
California view state ↗ 19 N ▾
Colorado view state ↗ 37 N ▾
Idaho view state ↗ 18 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 48 N ▾
Indiana view state ↗ 12 N ▾
Iowa view state ↗ 27 N ▾
Kansas view state ↗ 97 N ▾
Kentucky view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Louisiana view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Maine view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 8 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 33 N ▾
Minnesota view state ↗ 37 N ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Missouri view state ↗ 29 N ▾
Montana view state ↗ 12 N ▾
Nebraska view state ↗ 63 N ▾
Nevada view state ↗ 11 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 1 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 2 N ▾
New Mexico view state ↗ 33 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 19 N ▾
North Dakota view state ↗ 28 N ▾
Ohio view state ↗ 8 N ▾
Oklahoma view state ↗ 37 N ▾
Oregon view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 7 N ▾
South Dakota view state ↗ 25 N ▾
Tennessee view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Texas view state ↗ 167 N ▾
Utah view state ↗ 25 N ▾
Vermont view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Washington view state ↗ 9 N ▾
West Virginia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Wisconsin view state ↗ 45 N ▾
Wyoming view state ↗ 19 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/SPCR ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2704769 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z