Poverty Oatgrass
Danthonia spicata
Found in dry woodlands, rock outcrops, shale barrens. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- About 1 foot in flower
- Light
- Shade, Partial sun, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Low, Moderate
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Bloom
- May to August
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 1 Florida county.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Danthonia
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
1BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Danthonia
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
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Danthonia
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper 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
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “About 1 foot in flower” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Light · “Shade (minimum requirement); Partial sun (minimum requirement); Full sun (minimum requirement)” · Virginia DCR Piedmont (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Virginia regional planting chart; sunlight is a minimum requirement, moisture is low/moderate/high
- Soil · “Low; Moderate” · Virginia DCR Piedmont (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Virginia regional planting chart; sunlight is a minimum requirement, moisture is low/moderate/high
Also known as
Curly Dan; Poverty Oat Grass
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| FL 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
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Florida (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