Sand Love Grass
Eragrostis trichodes
Found in sandy prairies, disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 71%
- Height
- 2–4 feet
- Spread
- 2–3 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to somewhat dry
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At a glance
- Bloom
- July to December
Not yet recorded · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 1 Virginia county.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Habitats
Prairies and grasslands; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Eragrostis
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
- Lon hobomokHobomok Skipper
- Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Eragrostis
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
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
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5–9
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to December” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS via EOL TraitBank differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 5–9” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- Height · “2–4 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Light · “Full sun” · Tennessee Smart Yards · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Soil · “moderately dry to dry” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Spread · “2–3 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- 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