Hedgehog Woodrush
Luzula echinata
Found in moist to dry forests. 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 88%
- Height
- 8–20 inches
- Light
- Part sun
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to average
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- March to August
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 8 West Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 55 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (48)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- Alder Flycatcher
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-billed Cuckoo
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Towhee
- European Starling
- Fox Sparrow
- Gray Catbird
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Least Flycatcher
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- Veery
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
1BirdsRecorded eating Luzula 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
2AntsRecorded seed interactions
- Aphaenogaster rudis
- Lasius alienus
Aphaenogaster rudis: Seed dispersal.
Lasius alienus: Seed dispersal.
No records yet · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Luzula 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
- Juncaceae
- Flower color
- Green or brown
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “March to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “8–20 inches” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Part sun” · Tennessee Smart Yards · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Soil · “medium to moderately dry” · Tennessee Smart Yards · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| 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 by rhizomes. Spreads by rhizomes. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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


