switchgrass

Scientific Name: Panicum virgatum L.
Common Name: switchgrass

Morphological Characteristics:

• native, perennial
  
• tall, upright
  
• warm season grass
  
• rhizomatous
  
• forms dense clumps and will reach a height of 3 to 6 feet
  
• two types - upland, lowland
  
• lowland types - more robust, larger stems, wide, flat leaves up to 36 inches, favors wet sites
  
• upland types - finer stems and leaves up to 30 inches, dryer upland sites, smaller growth form
  
• seedhead - open panicle 10 to 14 inches long
  
• adapted to all kinds of soils from clay to fine sands
  
• lowland types will tolerate poorly drained soils, naturally wet sites, flooded areas, perched water tables and saline sites
  
• begins growth in March and will continue to grow up until the first killing frost
  
• seed ready for harvest in the fall
  
• plants turn a straw color during fall and into winter

Conservation Use:

Why collect this plant?
In north-central Texas there is a lack of locally-adapted native (ecotypic) plant materials for use in revegetation projects. The North Texas Ecotype Project (NTEP) was established to conserve the culturally, historically, and ecologically important native plants of north-central Texas, and promote their use for revegetation projects.

The Knox City Plant Materials Center in cooperation with NTEP has identified switchgrass as a plant meeting project objectives. Plant and seed collections supporting NTEP are targeted for 43 counties located within all or portions of 6 vegetation areas in north-central Texas including: Blackland Prairie, East Cross Timbers, Fort Worth Prairie, Lampasas Cut Plain, West Cross Timbers and Rolling Plains.

Future ecotypes developed will benefits the following conservation practice standards: 645 Upland Wildlife Habitat Management; 342 Critical Area Planting; 562 Recreation Area Improvement; 550 Range Planting; 327 Conservation Cover; 643 Restoration and Management of Rare or Declining Habitats; 601 Vegetative Barrier; 590 Nutrient Management.

Your assistance in collecting this plant helps support the NRCS conservation practice standards which are employed daily to conserve the natural resources of Texas!

Centers Requesting Seed:

Knox City Plant Materials Center

How to Collect Seed:

1. Identify native plant stands in your area. You can go to the following websites for helpful photos http://plants.usda.gov or http://www.noble.org/imagegallery/index.html or www.wildflower.org
2. Determine if seed is mature. Mature seed is typically dry and will easily separate from the seed head.
3. Hand strip mature seed by grasping the bottom of the seed head then gently pulling away from the base of the plant. Deposit seed in a brown paper sack. Collect seed from a minimum of 30 to 50 plants.
4. Label each collection as it is made so collections do not get mixed up. Information required includes: Collector’s name, number of plants collected, location (parish, city, highway, and GPS coordinates), site description (soil type, slope, and plants growing in association).
5. Complete NRCS-ECS-580; Plant Collection Information Form and mail with collected seeds to the NRCS Plant Material Center requesting the species.

Knox City Plant Materials Center
3776 FM 1292
Knox City, TX 79529-2514

Helpful Tips:

Look for superior plants that display differences in color, height, or forage abundance and record observations. Differences in growing site or location should be made into separate collections if they are separated by more than 1 mile between sites.

Other Photos:

Switchgrass

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NRCS Species for 2006 Plant Collections - switchgrass (PDF; 104 KB)