American Barnyard Grass
Echinochloa muricata var. microstachya
Found in swamps; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground; ponds, lakes and their shores. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native status: sources disagree, under review. How scores work Is it native here?
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At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 2 West Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.
Who uses this plant?
6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Echinochloa
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Ctenucha virginicaVirginia Ctenucha
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Limochores mysticLong Dash
- Polites themistoclesTawny-Edged Skipper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
21BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Echinochloa
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Aix sponsaWood Duck
- Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
- Anas platyrhynchosMallard
- Anser albifronsGreater White-fronted Goose
- Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
Show all 21
- Dendrocygna autumnalisBlack-bellied Whistling-Duck
- Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
- Dolichonyx oryzivorusBobolink
- Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
- Mareca streperaGadwall
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Porzana carolinaSora
- Rallus elegansKing Rail
- Spatula discorsBlue-winged Teal
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
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| 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.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- 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