Home · Texas · Inland Sea Oats
Grass · Deer-resistant
Inland Sea Oats
Chasmanthium latifolium
Also called: Wild Oats, River Oats
The rare ornamental grass that thrives in shade, dangling flat, papery seed heads that shift from green to bronze and rustle all winter. Superb under trees.
Growing & care
One of the best natives for shade and stream banks; holds soil well. Reseeds freely — pull extras or let it colonize. Cut back in late winter.
Bloom season
In bloom: Jul–Sep · Colors: green, bronze
Where to buy
Look for inland sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) at: Prairie Moon Nursery, native Texas nurseries.
Sources
Range, nomenclature, and the USDA symbol above come from the federal plant record for this species. Check it yourself:
Chasmanthium latifolium (CHLA5) in the USDA PLANTS Database →
Good for
Plant it with
Natives that pair with inland sea oats
Same conditions, same uses — species that share inland sea oats's growing requirements and belong in the same bed.
Coralberry
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus
A modest suckering shrub for shade that comes into its own in fall, when the arching branches string themselves with clusters of coral-pink berries the birds strip by spring..
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
An upright prairie grass with airy pink-bronze seed clouds and gold fall color.
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Spikes of the most intense scarlet of any native flower, rising from moist shade in late summer.
Wax Myrtle
Morella cerifera
A fast, dense, aromatic evergreen that makes an ideal privacy screen and fixes its own nitrogen.
Fragrant Sumac
Rhus aromatica
A low, spreading shrub that blazes orange-red in fall and holds slopes with its suckering roots.
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
The backbone grass of the American prairie, turning coppery-mahogany in fall and silver-tufted in winter.