Poaceae FAMILY

Uniola paniculata

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial

Growth—

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^[1]. Prefers a moist sandy soil, tolerating some shade^[2]. Tolerates maritime exposure and saline soils^[2]. Established plants are very drought tolerant^[3]. 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^[3]. 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^[3]. Seed production in the wild is generally poor^[4]. 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^[5]. An invasive plant, spreading freely by means of its rhizomes^[6], but it is very ornamental^[2]. 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^[3].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring 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^[1]. Division in spring^[2]. 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^[3]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Uniola+paniculata>

Pollinators

Wind

References

[1]Fire Effects Information System — http://www.feis-crs.org/feis/ ↩︎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
[2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[3]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
[4]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
[5]Compartmentation and localization of bioactive metabolites in different organs of Allium roylei — Abdelrahman Mostafa; Hirata Sho et al · 2014 · http:// http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tbbb20 · ISBN 0916-8451 ↩︎
[6]Manual of the Grasses of the United States — Hitchcock. A. S. · Dover Publications. New York. · 1971 · ISBN 0-486-22717-0 ↩︎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.
[7]Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition — Fernald. M. L. · American Book Co.; New York · 1950 · ISBN 0442222505 ↩︎A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
[8]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
[9]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎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.
[PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎