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Widgeon-grass

Ruppia maritima

Found in brackish estuaries, rivers, marsh pools. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

13
Modest

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

Profile 94%

Height
About 2.4 inches
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Standing water
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Bloom
July to October
Fruiting season
Spring to summer

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 16 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

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Salt and brackish open water of sounds, bays and estuaries, with the mud and sand flats and seagrass beds that tides cover and uncover; the vegetated marsh is salt and brackish marshes.

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. 106 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

0CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
11BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Aythya americanaRedhead
  • Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
  • Aythya marilaGreater Scaup
  • Aythya valisineriaCanvasback
  • Cygnus columbianusTundra Swan
  • Cygnus olorMute Swan
  • Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
  • Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
  • Mareca penelopeEurasian Wigeon
  • Mareca streperaGadwall
Show all 11
  • Spatula clypeataNorthern Shoveler
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
Cymodoceaceae
Flower color
Green
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Spring
Fruit ends
Summer

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Widgeon grass

Conservation status

Virginia rankNot available
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Growing cautions

  • Spreads by rhizomes. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as rhizomatous. USDA PLANTS

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

Sources