States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaArkansasFloridaLouisianaMississippiVirginiaWest Virginia
Menu

Pineywoods Dropseed

Sporobolus junceus

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in sandhills; glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone; prairies and grasslands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

36
Good

Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 82%

Height
Up to about 3 feet 4 inches
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

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.

1 of 4

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock

Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 67 animals.

All wildlife of Louisiana

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA

Genus host records with ranges including LA · Sporobolus

  • Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
  • Panoquina panoquinoidesObscure Skipper, Beach Skipper
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
1BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Sporobolus

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
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
10BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
  • Ammospiza leconteiiLeConte's Sparrow
  • Calcarius ornatusChestnut-collared Longspur
  • Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
  • Catharus fuscescensVeery
  • Euphagus cyanocephalusBrewer's Blackbird
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
  • Pooecetes gramineusVesper 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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Poaceae
Flower color
White, green or purple

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

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Louisiana rankSNR
Global rankG5
LA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Sources