Composite Dropseed
Sporobolus compositus
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 41%
- Height
- Culms are generally solid [45,65,94,105] and range from 8 to 51 inches tall [11,45,94,105].
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Soil · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
County records are not available.
Who uses this plant?
2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Sporobolus
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
1BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Sporobolus
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
10BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Sporobolus
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Ammospiza leconteiiLeConte's Sparrow
- Calcarius ornatusChestnut-collared Longspur
- Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
- Catharus fuscescensVeery
- Euphagus cyanocephalusBrewer's Blackbird
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
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
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Green or purple
What its natural habitat tells you
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Green or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Culms are generally solid [45,65,94,105] and range from 8 to 51 inches (20-130 cm) tall [11,45,94,105].” · Fire Effects Information System: Sporobolus compositus (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs) · Source botanical description; original units and scope retained
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| 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)
- 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