Rattlesnake Manna Grass
Glyceria canadensis
Found in bogs, seepages, montane depression ponds, and wet meadows. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- About 3.2 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Part shade
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet

At a glance
- Bloom
- June to August
- Fruiting season
- Spring to summer
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 6 West Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.
Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.
Who uses this plant?
11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Glyceria
- Apamea devastatorGlassy Borer, Glassy Cutworm Moth
- Apamea dubitansDoubtful Agroperina
- Leucania commoidesDusky Wainscot, Comma Wainscot
- Leucania lapidariaX
- Limochores origenesCrossline Skipper
- Mythimna oxygalaLesser Wainscot
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Plusia contextaConnected Looper Moth
- Polites themistoclesTawny-Edged Skipper
- Pseudohermonassa bicarneaPink-Spotted Dart
Show all 11
- Pseudohermonassa tenuiculaMorrison's Sooty Dart
2BirdsRecorded eating Glyceria 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.
- RedheadSeeds. 2 diet records
- Wild Turkey2 diet records
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 Glyceria 2
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- RedheadAythya americana
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Green
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- 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 · “June to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- 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 · “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 · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 3.2 feet” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Light · “Full sun (6+ hours); Part shade (3–6 hours)” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Soil · “Wet; Wet-mesic” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S3S4 |
|---|---|
| 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.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- 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



