Cultivated Rye
Secale cereale
Found in fields; commonly cultivated, uncommonly persistent or volunteering after cultivation. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 2–4 feet
- Spread
- 6 inches–1 foot
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- May to July
- Fruiting season
- Spring to summer
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 31 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.
Who uses this plant?
13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Secale
- Acronicta insularisHenry's Marsh Moth, Cattail Caterpillar
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Elaphria nucicoloraSugarcane Midget, Sugarcane Moth
- Euxoa detersaRubbed Dart, Sandhill Cutworm
- Euxoa messoriaReaper Dart, Darksided Cutworm, Dark-Sided Cutworm
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Fissicrambus mutabilisStriped Webworm, Striped Sodworm, Changeable Grass-Veneer
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
Show all 13
- Nola cereellaSorghum Cutworm, Sorghum Webworm Moth, Sorgham Webworm Moth
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
—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 · Secale
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Euphagus cyanocephalusBrewer's Blackbird
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Phasianus colchicusRing-necked Pheasant
- Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
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
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- Green
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- 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
- Bloom · “May to July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “2–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “6 inches–1 foot” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Rye
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- 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