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Sugarcane Plumegrass

Erianthus giganteus

Found in marshes, roadbanks, lake and pond margins, cypress ponds, wet pine flatwoods, ditches. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

37
Good

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

Profile 100%

Height
3–8 feet
Spread
3–4 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 3.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 8 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

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At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
September to December
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Recorded in 57 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 4

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal pond margins, Florida and Louisiana to North Carolina; state not identified, a neighboring state.Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Pine flatwoods

Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer
Wet pine flatwoods with a shrub layer. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 73 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

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 4a–10b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Brown/copper, yellow, gray/silver, pink or red
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Grows in clumps
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
Also known as

Giant Plume Grass; Saccharum giganteum; Sugarcane Plume 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