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Maidencane

Panicum hemitomon

Found in ponds, lakes and their shores; swamps; freshwater marshes; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

53
Strong

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

Profile 94%

Height
Up to about 6 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

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

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
March to November

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

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.

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.

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. 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. 131 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
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

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Poaceae
Flower color
Green or brown
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Hymenachne hemitomon; Maiden Cane; Marsh Grass; Panicum hemitomon; panicgrass

Conservation status

Virginia rankS2
Global rankG5?
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources