States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaFloridaVirginia
Menu

Silver Plumegrass

Erianthus alopecuroides

Found in dry to moist fields, roadsides, woodlands, and woodland borders. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

37
Good

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

Profile 88%

Height
3–10 feet
Spread
3–5 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 4 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 6 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
September to November

Recorded in 45 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

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

22CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Saccharum

  • Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
  • Amblyscirtes vialisCommon Roadside-Skipper, Black Little Skipper
  • Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
  • Calpodes ethliusBrazilian Skipper, Canna Skipper, Canna Leafroller
  • Diatraea crambidoidesSouthern Cornstalk Borer
  • Elaphria chalcedoniaChalcedony Midget
  • Elaphria nucicoloraSugarcane Midget, Sugarcane Moth
  • Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
  • Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
  • Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
Show all 22
  • Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
  • Lerema acciusClouded Skipper, Corn Leaf tier
  • Lerodea eufalaEufala Skipper, Gray Skipper, Rice Leafroller
  • Lethe anthedonNorthern Pearly Eye
  • Leucania subpunctataWhite-Dotted Wainscot, Forage Armyworm
  • Meropleon cosmionComely Brocade
  • Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
  • Nomophila nearcticaLucerne Moth, American Celery Webworm
  • Panoquina ocolaOcola Skipper, Long-Winged Skiiper
  • Polites othoSouthern Broken-Dash, Broken-Dash Skipper
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Vernia vernaLittle Glassywing
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Poaceae
Hardiness
Zones 6a–10b
Flower color
White

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Saccharum alopecuroides; Silver Plume Grass

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
VA 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.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Sources