Bermuda Grass
Cynodon dactylon
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in lawns, gardens, roadsides, pastures, fields, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- About 1.4 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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Do not plant. Listed invasive in Louisiana.
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At a glance
- Bloom
- May to October
- Fruiting season
- Summer
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 57 Louisiana parishes.
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 Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 109 animals.
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- WilletTringa semipalmata
- Wilson's WarblerWilsonia pusilla
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Yellow RailCoturnicops noveboracensis
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
Widespread birds also seen here (33)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Canada Goose
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Eastern Kingbird
- European Starling
- Great Egret
- Great Horned Owl
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Tree Swallow
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
21CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Cynodon
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Agrotis malefidaRascal Dart, Pale-Sided Cut-Worm, Shagreened Cut-Worm
- Amblyscirtes vialisCommon Roadside-Skipper, Black Little Skipper
- Atalopedes huronSachem
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Cyllopsis gemmaGemmed Satyr
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Fissicrambus haytiellusCarpet-Grass Webworm Moth
- Hedone vibexWhirlabout
- Hermeuptychia sosybiusCarolina Satyr
Show all 21
- Herpetogramma phaeopteralisDusky Herpetogramma Moth,
- Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
- Lerodea eufalaEufala Skipper, Gray Skipper, Rice Leafroller
- Leucania subpunctataWhite-Dotted Wainscot, Forage Armyworm
- Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
- Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Oarisma minimaSouthern Skipperling, Tiny Skipper
- Panoquina panoquinoidesObscure Skipper, Beach Skipper
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded eating Cynodon in Louisiana
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Louisiana, most records first.
- Black-bellied Whistling-DuckSeeds. 1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Birds that eat Cynodon 1
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Black-bellied Whistling-DuckDendrocygna autumnalis
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Spreads by runners
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- 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 · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Spreads by runners” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 1.4 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- 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
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Louisiana occurrence source
- 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