Meadow Fescue
Schedonorus pratensis
Also listed as Lolium pratense
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in fields, roadsides, pastures, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- About 2 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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At a glance
- Bloom
- May to July
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 8 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
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 Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 33 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (30)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Cooper's Hawk
- Eastern Bluebird
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Great Horned Owl
- Indigo Bunting
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Turkey Vulture
- Wild Turkey
- Yellow-breasted Chat
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Schedonorus
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Elachista freyerella
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Schedonorus
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
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
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- 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 · “May to July” · 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 · “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 · “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 2 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (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
Also known as
Festuca pratensis; Schedonorus pratensis; fescue
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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