Sporobolus pyramidatus(Lam.) Hitchc.

Madagascar dropseed

WFO wfo-0000901420 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Sporobolus pyramidatus, photographed by kbkash
fig. a kbkash, CC0 1.0 / 2022-04-08 / obs. 187142601
Sporobolus pyramidatus, photographed by Sam Kieschnick
fig. b Sam Kieschnick, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 55714529
Sporobolus pyramidatus, photographed by Martin Purdy
fig. c Martin Purdy, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 23931183
Sporobolus pyramidatus, photographed by Hugo Hulsberg
fig. d Hugo Hulsberg, CC0 1.0 / obs. 156762268
Sporobolus pyramidatus, photographed by Hugo Hulsberg
fig. e Hugo Hulsberg, CC0 1.0 / obs. 161702017
Sporobolus pyramidatus, photographed by CK2AZ
fig. f CK2AZ, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 205834962
Sporobolus pyramidatus, photographed by Chet Burrier
fig. g Chet Burrier, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 200638605
Sporobolus pyramidatus, photographed by Ryan Donnelly
fig. h Ryan Donnelly, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 200112271

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 56 botanical countries

Regions where Sporobolus pyramidatus is native: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Aruba, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Cayman Is., Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Galápagos, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Turks-Caicos Is., Uruguay, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. ArizonaArkansasColoradoFloridaIllinoisKansasLouisianaMarylandMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestMissouriNebraskaNew MexicoOklahomaTexasUtahArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPeruPuerto RicoSurinameTrinidad-TobagoUruguayVenezuela ArubaBahamasCayman Is.GalápagosLeeward Is.Netherlands AntillesTurks-Caicos Is.Venezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Sporobolus pyramidatus, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Aruba ARU
Bahamas BAH
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Cayman Is. CAY
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Galápagos GAL
Guatemala GUA
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Netherlands Antilles NLA
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Turks-Caicos Is. TCI
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Windward Is. WIN
Arizona ARI NORTHERN AMERICA
Arkansas ARK
Colorado COL
Florida FLA
Illinois ILL
Kansas KAN
Louisiana LOU
Maryland MRY
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Missouri MSO
Nebraska NEB
New Mexico NWM
Oklahoma OKL
Texas TEX
Utah UTA

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 23 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Agrostis humifusa (Kunth) Roem. & Schult.
  • Agrostis pyramidalis Rich. ex Steud.
  • Agrostis pyramidata Lam.
  • Sporobolus affinis Kunth
  • Sporobolus argutus (Nees) Kunth
  • Sporobolus argutus f. purpurascens Hack.
  • Sporobolus argutus var. tuberculatus (Hack.) Hack.
  • Sporobolus arkansanus Nutt. ex Vasey
  • Sporobolus humifusus (Kunth) Kunth
  • Sporobolus patens Swallen
  • Sporobolus pulvinatus Swallen
  • Sporobolus sabeanus Buckley ex Vasey
  • Sporobolus tuberculatus Hack.
  • Vilfa affinis Steud.
  • Vilfa agrostidea Buckley
  • Vilfa ambigua Steud.
  • Vilfa arguta Nees
  • Vilfa arkansana Trin.
  • Vilfa elatior Nees
  • Vilfa humifusa Kunth
  • Vilfa richardii Steud.
  • Vilfa sabeana Buckley
  • Vilfa subpyramidata Trin.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.