Cupgrass: What Every Gardener Should Know About This Widespread Grass
If you’ve ever wondered about those unassuming grasses growing wild in fields and along roadsides, you might have encountered cupgrass (Eriochloa). While this grass genus isn’t likely to win any beauty contests, it’s worth understanding what it is and whether it belongs in your garden.
What Is Cupgrass?
Cupgrass belongs to the grass family and includes both annual and perennial species. True to its nature as a grass, it’s wind-pollinated and produces the characteristic seed heads you’d expect from grasses. Don’t expect showy flowers or dramatic foliage – this is a utilitarian plant through and through.
Where You’ll Find Cupgrass
Cupgrass has quite the travel resume! It grows across an impressive range of locations including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and even extends to Ontario, Canada, plus Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Palau.
Native Status: It’s Complicated
Here’s where things get interesting – cupgrass has a complex relationship with North American landscapes. While it’s considered native to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, it’s classified as non-native in Canada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Basin. In the continental United States, its status is somewhat undefined, which tells us this grass has been moving around for quite some time.
Should You Plant Cupgrass in Your Garden?
Honestly? Probably not. Here’s why cupgrass typically doesn’t make the cut for home gardens:
- Limited ornamental value – it’s more functional than beautiful
- Primarily used for pasture and forage rather than landscaping
- Can spread aggressively once established
- Offers minimal benefits to pollinators since it’s wind-pollinated
- Better native alternatives exist for most gardening purposes
Better Native Alternatives
Instead of cupgrass, consider these native grass options that offer more benefits to your local ecosystem:
- Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) – beautiful fall color and excellent wildlife habitat
- Buffalo grass (Poaceae dactyloides) – drought-tolerant and perfect for natural lawns
- Purple top (Tridens flavus) – attractive seed heads and good for erosion control
- Switch grass (Panicum virgatum) – tall, graceful, and loved by birds
If You Encounter Cupgrass
Since cupgrass grows in such a wide range of conditions and locations, you might already have it growing wild on your property. If so, you don’t necessarily need to remove it unless you’re trying to establish a specific native plant community. It’s not particularly harmful, but it’s not particularly beneficial either.
Growing Conditions
Should you decide to work with existing cupgrass or are simply curious about its preferences, this grass is quite adaptable. It generally thrives in warm climates (USDA zones 8-11) and tolerates various soil conditions, including poor soils that other plants might struggle with. Once established, it requires minimal care and can handle drought conditions reasonably well.
The Bottom Line
Cupgrass falls into that category of plants that are neither heroes nor villains in the garden world – they’re just there, doing their grass thing. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with cupgrass, your garden dollars and efforts are better spent on native grasses that provide more ecological benefits and aesthetic appeal. Save the cupgrass appreciation for those wild spaces where it can just be itself – unremarkable but persistent, like that reliable friend who’s always around but never makes a fuss.
