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Hair Fescue

Festuca filiformis

Found in lawns, roadsides, disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 59%

Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist

At a glance

Bloom
May to June

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 5 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

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. 127 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

10CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Festuca

  • Acrolophus popeanellaClemen's Grass Tubeworm
  • Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
  • Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
  • Atalopedes huronSachem
  • Chrysoteuchia topiariusCranberry Girder, Subterranean Webworm, Topiary Grass-Veneer
  • Cisseps fulvicollisYellow-Collared Scape Moth
  • Hesperia sassacusIndian Skipper
  • Pediasia trisectaSod Webworm Moth, Larger Sod Webworm
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
6BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Alectoris chukarChukar
  • Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
  • Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
  • Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
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

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 June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Conservation status

Virginia rankSNA
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources