Appalachian Panic Grass, Appalachian Witchgrass
Dichanthelium appalachiense
Found in shale barrens, other dry rocky sites. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
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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
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 4 Virginia counties.
Habitats
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Who uses this plant?
26CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Panicum
- Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Dargida rubripennisThe Pink-Streak
- Dichagyris acclivisSwitchgrass Dart, Inclined Dart
- Haimbachia albescensSilvered Haimbachia
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Hesperia sassacusIndian Skipper
- Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
Show all 26
- Lerema acciusClouded Skipper, Corn Leaf tier
- Lethe anthedonNorthern Pearly Eye
- Leucania adjutaAdjutant Wainscot
- Leucania linitaReed Wainscot, Linen Wainscot
- Lon hobomokHobomok Skipper
- Marimatha nigrofimbriaBlack-Bordered Lemon
- Mocis texanaTexas Mocis
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Panoquina ocolaOcola Skipper, Long-Winged Skiiper
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Poanes viatorBroad-Winged Skipper
- Polites egeremetNorthern Broken-Dash
- Polites themistoclesTawny-Edged Skipper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Elachista radiantella
- Idioglossa miraculosa
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
35BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Panicum
- Acanthis flammeaCommon Redpoll
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Aix sponsaWood Duck
- Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Anthus spragueiiSprague's Pipit
- Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Calcarius ornatusChestnut-collared Longspur
- Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
Show all 35
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Contopus virensEastern Wood-Pewee
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
- Dolichonyx oryzivorusBobolink
- Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
- Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
- Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
- Mareca streperaGadwall
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Passer domesticusHouse Sparrow
- Peucaea aestivalisBachman's Sparrow
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
- Porzana carolinaSora
- Quiscalus quisculaCommon Grackle
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
- Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Xanthocephalus xanthocephalusYellow-headed Blackbird
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
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
Plant details
- Family
- Family not recorded
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications