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Carolina Canary-grass

Phalaris caroliniana

Found in borders of oligohaline tidal marshes, bottomland forests, ditches, roadsides, pastures, fallow fields, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

36
Good

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

Profile 88%

Height
Up to about 5 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual
Bloom
April to June

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 45 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 3

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

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

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · Phalaris

  • Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
  • Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
  • Lethe anthedonNorthern Pearly Eye
  • Meropleon cosmionComely Brocade
  • Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
7BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
  • Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
  • Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
  • Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
  • Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned 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
Not applicable

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Carolina Canary Grass

Conservation status

Mississippi rankSNR
Global rankG5?
MS statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources