Woodland Bluegrass
Poa sylvestris
Found in moist to moderately dry forests, loess bluffs, black belt prairies, rich slopes, occasionally in disturbed sites. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- About 3 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Bloom
- April to June
- Fruiting season
- Spring to summer
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 26 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
33CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Poa
- Acrolophus popeanellaClemen's Grass Tubeworm
- Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
- Amblyscirtes hegonPepper and Salt Skipper
- Amblyscirtes vialisCommon Roadside-Skipper, Black Little Skipper
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Arugisa luteaCommon Arugisa
- Atalopedes huronSachem
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
Show all 33
- Fissicrambus mutabilisStriped Webworm, Striped Sodworm, Changeable Grass-Veneer
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
- Lacinipolia meditataThe Thinker
- Lerodea eufalaEufala Skipper, Gray Skipper, Rice Leafroller
- Leucania phragmitidicolaNeedle Wainscot, Phragmites Wainscot
- Leucania subpunctataWhite-Dotted Wainscot, Forage Armyworm
- Lon hobomokHobomok Skipper
- Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
- Macrochilo litophoraAngulate Fan-Foot, Brown-Lined Owlet
- Marimatha nigrofimbriaBlack-Bordered Lemon
- Megisto cymelaLittle Wood Satyr
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Nephelodes miniansBronzed Cutworm
- Nomophila nearcticaLucerne Moth, American Celery Webworm
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Parapediasia teterrellusBluegrass Webworm
- Pediasia trisectaSod Webworm Moth, Larger Sod Webworm
- Phalaenostola larentioidesBlack-Banded Owlet, Black-Banded Phalaenostola
- Polites themistoclesTawny-Edged Skipper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Gonioterma mistrella
1BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Poa
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
9BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Poa
- Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
- Branta canadensisCanada Goose
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Lagopus leucuraWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
- Spizella breweriBrewer's Sparrow
- Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
- Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
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
- 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 June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- 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
- Height · “About 3 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
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)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- 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