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Lesser Canary Grass

Phalaris minor

Found in waste areas near wool-combing mills, other disturbed sites. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 12%

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 1 Florida county.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Phalaris

  • Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
  • Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
  • Meropleon cosmionComely Brocade
  • Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
7BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
  • Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
  • Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
  • Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
  • Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Poaceae

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

Conservation status

Florida rankSNA
Global rankNot available
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources