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Knotgrass

Paspalum distichum

Found in brackish (especially oligohaline) and freshwater marshes, interdune swales and marshes, waterfowl impoundments. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

65
Strong

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

Profile 100%

Height
About 10.8 inches
Light
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

Bloom
May to November
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 9 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

Coastal dunes and beaches

Core Banks dunes, June 2013
Dune grassland. Shown: Core Banks, Cape Lookout, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Core Banks dunes, June 2013, Jarek Tuszyński, June 2013. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source record.

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.

Freshwater marshes

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

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 101 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

14CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Paspalum

  • Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
  • Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
  • Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
  • Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
  • Lerema acciusClouded Skipper, Corn Leaf tier
  • Lerodea eufalaEufala Skipper, Gray Skipper, Rice Leafroller
  • Limochores mysticLong Dash
  • Mocis texanaTexas Mocis
  • Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
  • Polites othoSouthern Broken-Dash, Broken-Dash Skipper
Show all 14
  • Redectis vitreaWhite-Spotted Redactis
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
7BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Paspalum

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
17BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
  • Aix sponsaWood Duck
  • Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
  • Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
  • Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
  • Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
  • Dolichonyx oryzivorusBobolink
  • Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
Show all 17
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
  • Porzana carolinaSora
  • Quiscalus mexicanusGreat-tailed Grackle
  • Quiscalus quisculaCommon Grackle
  • Rallus elegansKing Rail
  • Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
  • 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
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Spreads by runners
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Knot Grass

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
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.

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How to check your spot

Growing cautions

  • Spreads by runners. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as stoloniferous. USDA PLANTS

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources