Carolina Canary-grass
Phalaris caroliniana
Found in borders of oligohaline tidal marshes, bottomland forests, ditches, roadsides, pastures, fallow fields, disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- Up to about 5 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- April to June
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 3 Virginia counties.
Habitats
Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated); floodplain and bottomland forests; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Who uses this plant?
9CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Phalaris
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Apamea devastatorGlassy Borer, Glassy Cutworm Moth
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Lethe anthedonNorthern Pearly Eye
- Meropleon cosmionComely Brocade
- Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Xylomoia chagnoniReed Canarygrass Borer
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
7BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Phalaris
- Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
- Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
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
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Not applicable
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Not applicable” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Carolina Canary Grass
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SH |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5? |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications