American Barnyard Grass
Echinochloa muricata var. microstachya
Found in swamps; depression ponds and limesinks; Coastal dunes and beaches; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground; ponds, lakes and their shores. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Mississippi (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
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At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 21 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.
Depression ponds and limesinks
Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.
Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.
Who uses this plant?
7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Echinochloa
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Lerema acciusClouded Skipper, Corn Leaf tier
- Lerodea eufalaEufala Skipper, Gray Skipper, Rice Leafroller
- Polites themistoclesTawny-Edged Skipper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
21BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Echinochloa
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Aix sponsaWood Duck
- Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
- Anas platyrhynchosMallard
- Anser albifronsGreater White-fronted Goose
- Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
Show all 21
- Dendrocygna autumnalisBlack-bellied Whistling-Duck
- Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
- Dolichonyx oryzivorusBobolink
- Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
- Mareca streperaGadwall
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Porzana carolinaSora
- Rallus elegansKing Rail
- Spatula discorsBlue-winged Teal
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
Plant details
- Family
- POACEAE
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| MS 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), South Central edition
- 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