Bluejoint Reedgrass
Calamagrostis canadensis
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 3–5 feet
- Light
- 4 or more hours of direct sun
- Soil moisture
- Average to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Bloom
- Late spring
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 5 West Virginia counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 48 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (34)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Belted Kingfisher
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Cooper's Hawk
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Towhee
- European Starling
- Fox Sparrow
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- Wild Turkey
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Calamagrostis
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Ctenucha virginicaVirginia Ctenucha
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Leucania pseudargyriaFalse Wainscot
- Limochores mysticLong Dash
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Photedes defectaNarrow-Winged Borer
1BirdsRecorded eating Calamagrostis in West Virginia
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.
- Lapland LongspurSeeds. 1 diet record
Direct food only. 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
Birds that eat Calamagrostis 1
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Green
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Spreads by rhizomes
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Green” · 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 · “3–5 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Soil · “wet to medium” · Tennessee Smart Yards · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
Also known as
Bluejoint; Canada Reed Grass
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV 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.
Growing cautions
- Spreads aggressively. Spreads aggressively by rhizomes. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- West Virginia occurrence source
- 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


