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Useful Tropical Plants

Uniola paniculata

L.

Poaceae

+ Synonyms

Briza caroliniana Lam.

Nevroctola maritima (Michx.) Raf.

Nevroctola paniculata (L.) Raf.

Trisiola paniculata (L.) Raf.

Uniola floridana Gand.

Uniola heterochroa Gand.

Uniola macrostachys Gand.

Uniola maritima Michx.

Common Name: Sea Oats

Uniola paniculata
Flowering plant
Photograph by: Melissa P
Creative Commons License
Uniola paniculata Uniola paniculata Uniola paniculata Uniola paniculata Uniola paniculata

General Information

Uniola paniculata is an evergreen perennial grass forming large clusters of stout, erect culms 100 - 250cm tall. The leaves, which can be basal or on stems, are up to 60cm long and 12mm wide[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food. It is an important stabilizing plant along coasts and is often encouraged and planted within its native range[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
]. The plant is also sometimes grown as an ornamental, and the seed heads are sometimes used in floral arrangements[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
With its vigorous root system, the plant does have the potential to become invasive[
236
Title
Manual of the Grasses of the United States
Publication
 
Author
Hitchcock. A. S.
Publisher
Dover Publications. New York.
Year
1971
ISBN
0-486-22717-0
Description
A nice and comprehensive flora, though a bit dated. Good line drawings of each plant, plus a brief idea of the habitat and a few notes on plant uses. Not for the casual reader.
]. It can be contained in a garden situation by restricting the roots or digging out the roots of unwanted growth - though these roots need to be either burnt or placed in a plastic bag until totally composted. It would be unwise to use the plant in soil conservation projects outside its native range[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

43
Title
Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition
Publication
 
Author
Fernald. M. L.
Publisher
American Book Co.; New York
Year
1950
ISBN
0442222505
Description
A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
,
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Range

Southeastern N. America - Delaware to Florida, west to Texas, E. Mexico; C. America - Nicaragua, Panama; Caribbean - Bahamas, Cuba to Dominican Republ

Habitat

Sandhills and drifting sands on the coast[
43
Title
Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition
Publication
 
Author
Fernald. M. L.
Publisher
American Book Co.; New York
Year
1950
ISBN
0442222505
Description
A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
]. Also found on salt flats[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Typically found on the loose sands of upper beaches, and the more exposed and accreting areas of dunes such as foredunes and dune crests[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].

Properties

Weed PotentialYes
Edibility Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *  *  *
HabitEvergreen Perennial
Height1.50 m
PollinatorsWind
Cultivation StatusOrnamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Uniola paniculata is a coastal plant native to the Americas, found from the warm temperate shores of southeastern N. America to the tropcal shores of Panama and the Caribbean. It can be grown away from the coast in mild winter areas and, especially in provenances obtained from the north of its range, is known to be able to withstand occasional, short-lived temperatures falling to about -7°c. It is found in areas where the mean annual rainfall can be within the range 680 - 1,520mm[
1050
Title
Fire Effects Information System
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.feis-crs.org/feis/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line information site with comprehensive information on over 1,100 species of plant. Mainly developed to supply information on the effects of fire on plants and animals, it also contains a wealth of other information on the plants
].
Prefers a moist sandy soil, tolerating some shade[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Tolerates maritime exposure and saline soils[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
Sea oats thrives, and is actually stimulated, where sand is actively accumulating - the accumulation of sand stimulates the roots into more vigorous growth thus ensuring the plant spreads more rapidly. It is highly tolerant of xeric conditions, but does not tolerate water logging of the roots, which will stress or kill plants within a few days[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
There are also beneficial microorganisms associated with the roots of the plant - vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are reported to increase the surface area of roots facilitating nutrient absorption and improving nutrition of sea oats communities[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
Seed production in the wild is generally poor[
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
]. Plants in the north of the plant's range produce an average of
2.24 seeds per spikelet, (about 30% of pollinated ovaries) - this figure decreases as you move south with plants in Florida producing around 0.6 seeds[
1150
Title
Compartmentation and localization of bioactive metabolites in different organs of Allium roylei
Publication
Bioscience Biotechnology and Biochemistry · February 2014
Author
Abdelrahman Mostafa; Hirata Sho et al
Website
http:// http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tbbb20
Publisher
 
Year
2014
ISBN
0916-8451
Description
 
].
An invasive plant, spreading freely by means of its rhizomes[
236
Title
Manual of the Grasses of the United States
Publication
 
Author
Hitchcock. A. S.
Publisher
Dover Publications. New York.
Year
1971
ISBN
0-486-22717-0
Description
A nice and comprehensive flora, though a bit dated. Good line drawings of each plant, plus a brief idea of the habitat and a few notes on plant uses. Not for the casual reader.
], but it is very ornamental[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. And is well worth a place in the garden.
This species photosynthesizes by a more efficient method than most plants. Called the 'C4 carbon-fixation pathway', this process is particularly efficient at high temperatures, in bright sunlight and under dry conditions[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].

Edible Uses

Seed - cooked and eaten as a cereal[
177
Title
Plants for Human Consumption.
Publication
 
Author
Kunkel. G.
Publisher
Koeltz Scientific Books
Year
1984
ISBN
3874292169
Description
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
,
183
Title
Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Facciola. S.
Publisher
Kampong Publications
Year
1990
ISBN
0-9628087-0-9
Description
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
]. Said to have a very good flavour[
183
Title
Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Facciola. S.
Publisher
Kampong Publications
Year
1990
ISBN
0-9628087-0-9
Description
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
].

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is exceptionally tolerant of the harsh conditions associated with coastal beach environments, such as:- salt spray; short inundation of saltwater from storm surges; strong winds; xeric soil conditions; and rapid sand accretion. With its tought, spreading root system, it is considered an excellent pioneering species along the coast, establishing rapidly and colonizing the fore-dunes and dune crests. It is also a climax species due to its ability to stabilize the dunes and to persist in these extreme coastal beach conditions[
1
Title
RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
Publication
 
Author
F. Chittendon.
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Year
1951
ISBN
-
Description
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
,
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
,
236
Title
Manual of the Grasses of the United States
Publication
 
Author
Hitchcock. A. S.
Publisher
Dover Publications. New York.
Year
1971
ISBN
0-486-22717-0
Description
A nice and comprehensive flora, though a bit dated. Good line drawings of each plant, plus a brief idea of the habitat and a few notes on plant uses. Not for the casual reader.
,
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow in a nursery seedbed and only just cover the seed. Seeds from the north of the plant's range benefit from being kept in moist sand at around 4°c for thirty days prior to sowing, whilst seeds from the south of the plant's range not only do not require a cold treatment but their germination is impaired by it[
1050
Title
Fire Effects Information System
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.feis-crs.org/feis/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line information site with comprehensive information on over 1,100 species of plant. Mainly developed to supply information on the effects of fire on plants and animals, it also contains a wealth of other information on the plants
].
Division[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. The divisions can be planted immediately in situ, but more certain results can be achieved if they are first established in pots in a nursery[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-05. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Uniola+paniculata>

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