States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaFloridaVirginia
Menu

Big Cordgrass

Spartina cynosuroides

Found in brackish (mesohaline and oligohaline) and freshwater tidal marshes, especially along margins of tidal creeks. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

42
Good

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

Profile 100%

Height
About 8 feet
Light
4 or more hours of direct sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Bloom
Spring
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 27 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

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.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 107 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

15CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Spartina

  • Aethalura intertextaFour-Barred Gray
  • Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
  • Apantesis phalerataHarnessed Moth
  • Atrytone bulentaRare Skipper
  • Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
  • Euxoa detersaRubbed Dart, Sandhill Cutworm
  • Leucania linitaReed Wainscot, Linen Wainscot
  • Mocis texanaTexas Mocis
  • Nola cereellaSorghum Cutworm, Sorghum Webworm Moth, Sorgham Webworm Moth
  • Panoquina panoquinSalt Marsh Skipper
Show all 15
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Poanes aaroniAaron's Skipper
  • Chilo plejadellus
  • Doryodes spadaria
  • Photedes enervata
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
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
Yellow
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Flower color · “Yellow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Height · “About 8 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Also known as

Sporobolus cynosuroides

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
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.

Choose a county to begin.

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