Poaceae
Alkali sacaton
Sporobolus airoides
- Family
- Poaceae
- Genus
- Sporobolus
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Common names
By language (4)
- Chinese
- 鼠尾粟草
- English
- Alkali sacaton, Alkali-Sacaton
- nv
- Tłʼohtsáhí
- Spanish
- Cresta de gallo, Zacate alcalino, Zacate de agua, Zacatón, Sacatón
Synonyms
- Agrostis airoides Torr.
- Sporobolus airoides subsp. regis (I.M.Johnst.) Wipff & S.D.Jones
- Sporobolus airoides var. airoides
- Sporobolus diffusissimus Buckley
- Sporobolus regis I.M.Johnstone
- Sporobolus tharpii Hitchc.
- Vilfa airoides (Torr.) Trin. ex Steud.
Flowers
- In flower
- May, July to September (from 14 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
- Flower colour
- yellow (USDA PLANTS Database)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Graminoid
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native
Photos

FlowerPhoto: Parker James Lloyd, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: LM Cunningham, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Anders Hastings, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: LM Cunningham, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Matt Lavin, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Eliseo D Moreno, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Yuliana Dimas, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Yuliana Dimas, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Yuliana Dimas, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
More in Sporobolus
- Small cord-grassSporobolus maritimusPoaceae
- Common cord-grassSporobolus anglicusPoaceae
- Smut grassSporobolus indicusPoaceae
- Prairie cordgrassSporobolus michauxianusPoaceae
- Sporobolus pungensPoaceae
- Sporobolus aculeatusPoaceae
- Saltmarsh cordgrassSporobolus alterniflorusPoaceae
- Foxtail pricklegrassSporobolus alopecuroidesPoaceae
- Sporobolus fertilisPoaceae
- Denseflower cordgrassSporobolus montevidensisPoaceae
- Sporobolus rigensPoaceae
- Gulf cordgrassSporobolus spartinusPoaceae
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.