Orchard Grass
Dactylis glomerata
Found in pastures, fields, woodland edges, roadsides. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- About 3 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- April to October
- Fruiting season
- Spring to summer
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Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 40 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 2
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 92 animals.
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Blackburnian WarblerDendroica fusca
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
16CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Dactylis
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Fissicrambus mutabilisStriped Webworm, Striped Sodworm, Changeable Grass-Veneer
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Leucania adjutaAdjutant Wainscot
- Leucania commoidesDusky Wainscot, Comma Wainscot
- Leucania inermisUnarmed Wainscot
- Leucania linitaReed Wainscot, Linen Wainscot
- Leucania multilineaMany-Lined Wainscot
- Leucania phragmitidicolaNeedle Wainscot, Phragmites Wainscot
- Leucania pilipalpisZippered Wainscot
Show all 16
- Leucania pseudargyriaFalse Wainscot
- Leucania scirpicolaScirpus Wainscot
- Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
- Megisto cymelaLittle Wood Satyr
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimGrowing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “About 3 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- 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 wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: South Central (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- 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