Welcome to our wiregrass blog
We love wiregrass, and we are not shy about admitting it. Can you blame us? There are so many interesting things about this plant:
It spreads good fire and regrows quickly afterwards.
Seed production varies with fire season.
It loves fire, but be careful! There is some evidence that if you burn it every year for a long time, it starts producing fewer seeds.
Gopher tortoises and grasshoppers like to eat the leaves, and birds have been observed snacking on the seeds!
It lives for a really long time even without fire… but no one knows for how long! You can find it in some pine savannas where there hasn’t been fire in 50 years.
After a long time without fire, it can still flower and make seeds!
Sometimes it produces pickles instead of seeds. Gotcha! Don’t worry, that is just a smut.
There is some evidence that seeds used for restoration should come from plants at a nearby site with similar soils.
It is really expensive to buy wiregrass seeds from a commercial company, so neighbors often help neighbors by donating seeds or sharing equipment for restoration projects.
Don’t be fooled! Wiregrass has a look-alike, dropseed, but each have their own roles in the ecosystem.
Check in on our blog as we elaborate on these facts and others in semi-frequent posts about this super special plant!
In addition to sharing research updates, we will also be sharing our progress as we restore our first 10 acres this winter!
We hope to answer your questions or feature photos and descriptions of your own restoration successes and lessons learned. This is a space where we can all learn from each other. If you would like to contact us, please send an email to firelab@ifas.ufl.edu.
