Fall Witchgrass
Digitaria cognata
Also listed as Leptoloma cognatum
Found in sandy fields and roadsides. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Bloom
- June to November
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 15 Florida 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 Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 79 animals.
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
Who uses this plant?
27CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Digitaria
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Atalopedes huronSachem
- Cymaenes tripunctusThree-Spotted Skipper
- Dargida rubripennisThe Pink-Streak
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Fissicrambus mutabilisStriped Webworm, Striped Sodworm, Changeable Grass-Veneer
- Hedone vibexWhirlabout
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Hesperia attalusDotted Skipper
Show all 27
- Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Leucania subpunctataWhite-Dotted Wainscot, Forage Armyworm
- Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
- Maliattha synochitisBlack-Dotted Lithacodia, Black-Dotted Glyph, Brass-Dotted Grass Moth
- Marimatha nigrofimbriaBlack-Bordered Lemon
- Marimatha tripunctaThree-Spotted Lemon
- Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
- Mocis texanaTexas Mocis
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Polites othoSouthern Broken-Dash, Broken-Dash Skipper
- Polites themistoclesTawny-Edged Skipper
- Protodeltote muscosulaLarge Mossy Lithacodia, Large Mossy Glyph, Large Mossy Grass Moth
- Redectis vitreaWhite-Spotted Redactis
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Trichordestra legitimaStriped Garden Caterpillar Moth
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 · Digitaria
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
- Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Columba liviaRock Pigeon
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
Show all 21
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Peucaea aestivalisBachman's Sparrow
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Porzana carolinaSora
- Quiscalus quisculaCommon Grackle
- Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
- Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
- Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
- Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
- Vireo belliiBell's Vireo
- Vireo olivaceusRed-eyed Vireo
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 · “June to November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Light · “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
Digitaria cognata; Fall Witch Grass
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| 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
- 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