Ctenium aromaticum (Walter) Alph. Wood

Toothache Grass; Orange Grass

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Toothache Grass is a native herbaceous perennial in the Grass family (Poaceae). It is native to the southern third of Alabama. Toothache Grass grows in pine flatwoods and savannahs, in pitcher plant bogs, and in ecotones along drainages. It is an erect cespitose (clump forming) perennial. The non-flowering plants are 1-2 feet in height. Old leaf sheathes are persistent and become fibrous at the base. Leaves are basal and alternate on the lower parts of stems, linear, with ciliate margins. The leaves are glabrous below and scabrous above. Leaves are bright green above and pale below. Flowers are produced in panicles at the top of nearly naked flowering stems that are 3-4 feet in height. The panicles are solitary and curved, with spikelets produced on one side of the rachis. The fruit is an awned grain. The lower parts of stems contain isobutylamides that numb the mouth when chewed, hence the common name. Toothache Grass is a fire dependent species and flowers in abundance the year after a fire. It is sometimes available from nurseries specializing in native grasses. Toothache Grass prefers full sun and a moist, sandy soil. The dried fruiting panicles are sometimes used in floral arrangements.--A. Diamond

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Native FACW (NWPL)

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