Big Cordgrass
Spartina cynosuroides
Found in brackish (mesohaline and oligohaline) and freshwater tidal marshes, especially along margins of tidal creeks. 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 100%
- Height
- About 8 feet
- Light
- 4 or more hours of direct sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
At a glance
- Bloom
- Spring
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 7 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 117 animals.
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritus
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- King RailRallus elegans
- Le Conte's SparrowAmmodramus leconteii
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Lesser YellowlegsTringa flavipes
- LimpkinAramus guarauna
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- Little GullHydrocoloeus minutus
- Long-billed CurlewNumenius americanus
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Mottled DuckAnas fulvigula
- Nelson's Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus nelsoni
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Northern ShovelerAnas clypeata
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
Who uses this plant?
15CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Spartina
- Aethalura intertextaFour-Barred Gray
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Apantesis phalerataHarnessed Moth
- Doryodes bistrialisDouble-Lined Doryodes
- Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
- Leucania linitaReed Wainscot, Linen Wainscot
- Leucanopsis longaLong-Streaked Tussock Moth
- Mocis texanaTexas Mocis
- Nola cereellaSorghum Cutworm, Sorghum Webworm Moth, Sorgham Webworm Moth
- Panoquina panoquinSalt Marsh Skipper
Show all 15
- Poanes aaroniAaron's Skipper
- Chilo demotella
- Chilo plejadellus
- Doryodes spadaria
- Photedes enervata
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Spartina
- Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
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
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Spreads by rhizomes
- 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 · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- 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 · “Spreads by rhizomes” · 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 8 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Also known as
Sporobolus cynosuroides
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.
Growing cautions
- Spreads by rhizomes. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as rhizomatous. USDA PLANTS
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition
- 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