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Seashore Dropseed

Sporobolus virginicus

Found in salt marshes, tidal mud flats, and low dunes in the outer Coastal Plain. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

31
Good

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

Profile 94%

Height
About 2 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Bloom
Summer
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 2 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

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Salt and brackish open water of sounds, bays and estuaries, with the mud and sand flats and seagrass beds that tides cover and uncover; the vegetated marsh is salt and brackish marshes.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 116 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (29)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of Mississippi

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · Sporobolus

  • Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane 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
7BirdsRecorded eating Sporobolus in Mississippi

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Mississippi, most records first.

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

Direct food only. 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

Birds that eat Sporobolus 7

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Poaceae
Flower color
Brown
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall

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

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Mississippi rankSNR
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