Coastal Plain Witchgrass
Dichanthelium longiligulatum
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in limesink ponds, depression meadows, cypress savannas, pine savannas, bogs, swamps. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Arkansas (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- Up to about 3 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 19 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.
Who uses this plant?
23CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Panicum
- Amblyscirtes nysaNysa Roadside-Skipper
- Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Dargida rubripennisThe Pink-Streak
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Lerema acciusClouded Skipper, Corn Leaf tier
- Lethe anthedonNorthern Pearly Eye
Show all 23
- Leucania adjutaAdjutant Wainscot
- Lon hobomokHobomok Skipper
- Marimatha nigrofimbriaBlack-Bordered Lemon
- Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
- Mocis texanaTexas Mocis
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Panoquina ocolaOcola Skipper, Long-Winged Skiiper
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Polites egeremetNorthern Broken-Dash
- Polites themistoclesTawny-Edged Skipper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Elachista radiantella
- Idioglossa miraculosa
2BirdsRecorded eating Dichanthelium in Arkansas
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.
- Northern Bobwhite2 diet records
- Chestnut-collared Longspur1 diet record
Direct food only. 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
Birds that eat Dichanthelium 2
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- Chestnut-collared LongspurCalcarius ornatus
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Not applicable
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Not applicable” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 3 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Coastal Plain Panicgrass; Dichanthelium acuminatum subsp. longiligulatum; Long Ligule Panicgrass; Long Ligule Witchgrass; Panicum longiligulatum; panicgrass
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4G5Q |
| AR 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
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- 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



