Sea Oats
Uniola paniculata
Found in Coastal dunes and beaches. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 4–6 feet
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to somewhat dry
Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- Early summer
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 2 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 98 animals.
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Barn SwallowHirundo rustica
- Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticorax
- Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphia
- Brewer's BlackbirdEuphagus cyanocephalus
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleuca
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- Lark SparrowChondestes grammacus
- Le Conte's SparrowAmmodramus leconteii
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Uniola
- Amblyscirtes hegonPepper and Salt Skipper
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 7a–11b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- White
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Growth habit
- Spreads by rhizomes
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Early summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Slow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 7a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “4–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Occasionally dry; Very dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
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.
Growing cautions
- Spreads by rhizomes. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as rhizomatous. USDA PLANTS
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
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

























