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Poverty Oatgrass

Danthonia spicata

Found in dry woodlands, rock outcrops, shale barrens. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

33
Good

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

Profile 76%

Height
About 1 foot in flower
Light
Shade, Partial sun, Full sun
Soil moisture
Low, Moderate
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Bloom
May to August

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 98 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

Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

Sassafras Mountain rock outcrop
Rock outcrop on a mountain summit. Shown: Sassafras Mountain, on the North Carolina and South Carolina line, a neighboring state.Sassafras Mountain rock outcrop, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record. Faithful JPEG display decode of embedded JP2; no AI or color enhancement. Phone derivative resized proportionally.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

Shale barrens

Steep, sun-baked slopes of loose shale with sparse oaks and Virginia pine and their own endemic wildflowers. Linked only where the source names shale barrens; calcareous shale stays with the limestone glades.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 165 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Danthonia

  • Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
  • Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
  • Lon hobomokHobomok Skipper
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
1BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Danthonia

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
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
  • Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
  • Spizella pusillaField 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

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “May to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Height · “About 1 foot in flower” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
  • Light · “Shade (minimum requirement); Partial sun (minimum requirement); Full sun (minimum requirement)” · Virginia DCR Piedmont (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Virginia regional planting chart; sunlight is a minimum requirement, moisture is low/moderate/high
  • Soil · “Low; Moderate” · Virginia DCR Piedmont (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Virginia regional planting chart; sunlight is a minimum requirement, moisture is low/moderate/high
Also known as

Curly Dan; Poverty Oat Grass

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources