Woolly Witchgrass
Dichanthelium acuminatum
49
Good
Native to Mississippi (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 53%
- Height
- Vernal culms are tufted, usually unbranched and radiating from the base, and 6 to 32 inches tall [14,17,36].
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 27 Mississippi counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
25CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Panicum
- Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Dargida rubripennisThe Pink-Streak
- Dichagyris acclivisSwitchgrass Dart, Inclined Dart
- 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
Show all 25
- Lethe anthedonNorthern Pearly Eye
- Leucania adjutaAdjutant Wainscot
- Leucania linitaReed Wainscot, Linen Wainscot
- Lon hobomokHobomok Skipper
- 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
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
35BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Panicum
- Acanthis flammeaCommon Redpoll
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Aix sponsaWood Duck
- Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Anthus spragueiiSprague's Pipit
- Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Calcarius ornatusChestnut-collared Longspur
- Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
Show all 35
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Contopus virensEastern Wood-Pewee
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
- Dolichonyx oryzivorusBobolink
- Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
- Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
- Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
- Mareca streperaGadwall
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Passer domesticusHouse Sparrow
- Peucaea aestivalisBachman's Sparrow
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
- Porzana carolinaSora
- Quiscalus quisculaCommon Grackle
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
- Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Xanthocephalus xanthocephalusYellow-headed Blackbird
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
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
- Not applicable
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Not applicable” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Vernal culms are tufted, usually unbranched and radiating from the base, and 6 to 32 inches (15-80 cm) tall [14,17,36].” · Fire Effects Information System: Dichanthelium acuminatum (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs) · Source botanical description; original units and scope retained
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Also known as
Panicum lanuginosum; Tapered Leaf Panic Grass; Tapered Leaf Witch Grass; panicgrass
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| MS status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
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Sources
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Mississippi 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