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Florida Cockspur

Echinochloa paludigena

Found in swamps, riverbanks, and wet disturbed habitats. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

43
Good

Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 29%

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 23 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

Swamps

Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 103 animals.

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Echinochloa

  • Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
  • Cymaenes tripunctusThree-Spotted Skipper
  • Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
  • Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
  • Lerema acciusClouded Skipper, Corn Leaf tier
  • Lerodea eufalaEufala Skipper, Gray Skipper, Rice Leafroller
  • Polites themistoclesTawny-Edged Skipper
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
21BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Echinochloa

  • Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
  • Aix sponsaWood Duck
  • Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
  • Anas platyrhynchosMallard
  • Anser albifronsGreater White-fronted Goose
  • Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
  • Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
  • Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
Show all 21
  • Dendrocygna autumnalisBlack-bellied Whistling-Duck
  • Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
  • Dolichonyx oryzivorusBobolink
  • Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
  • Mareca streperaGadwall
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
  • Porzana carolinaSora
  • Rallus elegansKing Rail
  • Spatula discorsBlue-winged Teal
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Poaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Conservation status

Florida rankS3
Global rankNot available
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources