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Coastal Bog Bentgrass

Agrostis altissima

Found in wet pine savannas, sinkhole ponds, edges of swamp forests. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

45
Good

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

Profile 94%

Height
About 3.5 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Bloom
October to November
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 9 Virginia 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

Pine savannas

Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype
Sandy pine savanna. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Sinkhole ponds

Ponds and wet depressions in limestone sinkholes of the interior valleys and plateaus (karst), separate from the Coastal Plain's limesink ponds.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

18CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Agrostis

  • Agriphila ruricolellusSilver Striped Webworm, Lesser Vagabond Sod Webworm, Lesser Vagabond Crambid
  • Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
  • Amblyscirtes vialisCommon Roadside-Skipper, Black Little Skipper
  • Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
  • Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
  • Chrysoteuchia topiariusCranberry Girder, Subterranean Webworm, Topiary Grass-Veneer
  • Crambus praefectellusSilver Striped Webworm, Common Grass-Veneer
  • Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
  • Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
  • Leucania pseudargyriaFalse Wainscot
Show all 18
  • Limochores mysticLong Dash
  • Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
  • Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Parapediasia teterrellusBluegrass Webworm
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Trichordestra legitimaStriped Garden Caterpillar Moth
  • Elachista illectella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Ammospiza leconteiiLeConte's Sparrow
  • Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
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
Green
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
  • Bloom · “October to November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Height · “About 3.5 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Conservation status

Virginia rankNot available
Global rankG4
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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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