Toothache Grass

Ctenium aromaticum

Found in wet pine savannas, pocosin-savanna ecotones, seepage bogs, sandhill-pocosin ecotones, sandhill seeps. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

Modest

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 88%

Height: 1–5 feet
Spread: 1–3 feet
Light: Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture: Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

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Ctenium aromaticum — bloom photograph — John D. Byrd, Mississippi State University, Bugwood.org · CC BY 3.0 us · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial

Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: recorded only in the FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) phone app (app page).

Leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 16 Alabama counties.

Habitats

Pine savannas; Coastal Plain seepage bogs.

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 127 animals.

American Goldfinch
Carduelis tristis
Birds. 3 shared habitats
American Kestrel
Falco sparverius
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Chimney Swift
Chaetura pelagica
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Common Nighthawk
Chordeiles minor
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Cooper's Hawk
Accipiter cooperii
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Eastern Kingbird
Tyrannus tyrannus
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Eurasian Collared-dove
Streptopelia decaocto
Birds. 3 shared habitats
European Starling
Sturnus vulgaris
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Henslow's Sparrow
Ammodramus henslowii
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Northern Mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Accipiter striatus
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Yellow-breasted Chat
Icteria virens
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Birds. 3 shared habitats
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Dendroica coronata
Birds. 3 shared habitats
American Black Duck
Anas rubripes
Birds. 2 shared habitats

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Ctenium

Atrytone arogosArogos Skipper, Beardgrass Skipper

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

0BeesSoutheastern regional records

0Specialist beesPollen specialists

—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Poaceae
Hardiness: Zones 8a–10a
Soil pH: Acidic
Flower color: Green

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Flower color · “Green” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
Hardiness · “Zones 8a–10a” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Height · “1–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Spread · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Conservation status

Alabama rank	SNR
Global rank	G5
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Toothache Grass

At a glance

Habitats

Also found with this plant

Who uses this plant?

Plant details

Conservation status

Will it fit your yard?

Sources

More Ctenium