Erectleaf Witchgrass
Dichanthelium erectifolium
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in limesink ponds, depression meadows, cypress savannas, pine savannas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 2.5 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to August
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 2 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.
Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 89 animals.
- Fish CrowCorvus ossifragus
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- Fulvous Whistling-duckDendrocygna bicolor
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleuca
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- 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
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- Little GullHydrocoloeus minutus
- Long-billed CurlewNumenius americanus
- Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris
- Mottled DuckAnas fulvigula
Widespread birds also seen here (18)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
Who uses this plant?
22CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Panicum
- Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Dargida rubripennisThe Pink-Streak
- Hesperia attalusDotted Skipper
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Lerema acciusClouded Skipper, Corn Leaf tier
- Leucania adjutaAdjutant Wainscot
Show all 22
- Leucania linitaReed Wainscot, Linen Wainscot
- Marimatha nigrofimbriaBlack-Bordered Lemon
- Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
- Mocis texanaTexas Mocis
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Panoquina ocolaOcola Skipper, Long-Winged Skiiper
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Poanes viatorBroad-Winged Skipper
- Polites egeremetNorthern Broken-Dash
- Polites themistoclesTawny-Edged Skipper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Idioglossa miraculosa
1BirdsRecorded eating Dichanthelium 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.
- Northern Bobwhite2 diet records
Direct food only. 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
Birds that eat Dichanthelium 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.
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Green or brown
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 2.5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Panicum erectifolium; panicgrass
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| LA 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
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- 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


























