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Woodland Muhly

Muhlenbergia sylvatica

Found in bottomland and other moist forests, calcareous or mafic streambanks, prairies. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

25
Good

Native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
About 3 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Bloom
July to October
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 8 Mississippi counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

Prairies and grasslands

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

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · Muhlenbergia

  • Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
  • Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
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
Yellow
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall
Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Mississippi rankS2
Global rankG5
MS 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.

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How to check your spot

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