Elliott's Bentgrass
Agrostis elliottiana
Found in dry soils of barrens, fields, and rock outcrops. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- Up to about 1.5 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- April to June
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 16 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
14CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Agrostis
- Agriphila ruricolellusSilver Striped Webworm, Lesser Vagabond Sod Webworm, Lesser Vagabond Crambid
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Amblyscirtes vialisCommon Roadside-Skipper, Black Little Skipper
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
- Crambus praefectellusSilver Striped Webworm, Common Grass-Veneer
- Herpetogramma phaeopteralisDusky Herpetogramma Moth,
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
- Leucania pseudargyriaFalse Wainscot
- Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
Show all 14
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Parapediasia teterrellusBluegrass Webworm
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Agrostis
- Ammospiza leconteiiLeConte's Sparrow
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow, green or brown
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow, green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 1.5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Elliotts Bent Grass
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

