Narrowleaf Silkgrass
Pityopsis graminifolia
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in longleaf pine sandhills, other dry woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- About 2.8 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Good drainage

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Semi-evergreen
- Bloom
- Summer and fall
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 24 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 67 animals.
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Great-tailed GrackleQuiscalus mexicanus
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Magnificent FrigatebirdFregata magnificens
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Orange-crowned WarblerVermivora celata
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Pine WarblerDendroica pinus
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
Who uses this plant?
15CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Heterotheca
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
- Epiblema scudderianaScudder's Epiblema, Goldenrod Gall Moth
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Heliocheilus paradoxusParadoxical Grass Moth
- Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
- Ponometia semiflavaHalf-Yellow Bird-Dropping Moth, Half-Yellow Moth
- Schinia arcigeraArcigera Flower Moth
- Schinia lynxLynx Flower Moth
- Schinia nubilaCamphorweed Flower Moth
Show all 15
- Schinia saturataBrown Flower Moth
- Schinia sirenAluring Schinia Moth
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
- Hellinsia chlorias
48BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Pityopsis
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
22Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Heterotheca
- Andrena fulvipennis
- Ashmeadiella bucconis
- Colletes speculiferus
- Colletes thysanellae
- Dieunomia heteropoda
- Dieunomia nevadensis
- Hesperapis carinata
- Melissodes coreopsis
- Melissodes dentiventris
- Melissodes desponsus
Show all 22
- Melissodes druriellus
- Melissodes menuachus
- Perdita albipennis
- Perdita bishoppi
- Perdita boltoniae
- Perdita consobrina
- Perdita georgica
- Perdita graenicheri
- Perdita ignota
- Perdita octomaculata
- Perdita swenki
- Perdita xanthismae
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–9b
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Growth rate
- Slow
- 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 · “Summer and fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition, USDA PLANTS differ)
- Flower color · “Yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- 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 · “Slow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox differs)
- Height · “About 2.8 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Leaves · “Semi-evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Good drainage” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox differs)
Also known as
Heterotheca correllii; Narrowleaf Grass Leaf Goldenaster; golden aster; golden-aster
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T4 [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.
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
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- 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

























