Danthonia spicata(L.) Roem. & Schult.

poverty oatgrass

WFO wfo-0000862150 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Danthonia spicata, photographed by Taro Ietaka
fig. a Taro Ietaka, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-25 / obs. 200603383
Danthonia spicata, photographed by Jamie VanBuskirk
fig. b Jamie VanBuskirk, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 199223255
Danthonia spicata, photographed by Henry "Nick" Robertson
fig. c Henry "Nick" Robertson, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 198996045
Danthonia spicata, photographed by Jamie VanBuskirk
fig. d Jamie VanBuskirk, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 199181110
Danthonia spicata, photographed by Henry "Nick" Robertson
fig. e Henry "Nick" Robertson, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 193376276
Danthonia spicata, photographed by Seth G. Breeding
fig. f Seth G. Breeding, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 192487267
Danthonia spicata, photographed by Ana Ka'ahanui
fig. g Ana Ka'ahanui, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 191887842
Danthonia spicata, photographed by Nick Kleinschmidt
fig. h Nick Kleinschmidt, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 190669677

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 64 botanical countries

Regions where Danthonia spicata is native: Alabama, Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, Arkansas, British Columbia, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Greenland, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Labrador, Louisiana, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward I., Québec, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon AlabamaAlaskaAlbertaArizonaArkansasBritish ColumbiaColoradoConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaGreenlandIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLabradorLouisianaMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusettsMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaOhioOklahomaOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaPrince Edward I.QuébecSaskatchewanSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingYukon DelawareDistrict of ColumbiaRhode I.
Native distribution of Danthonia spicata, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Alaska ASK
Alberta ABT
Arizona ARI
Arkansas ARK
British Columbia BRC
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Delaware DEL
District of Columbia WDC
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Greenland GNL
Idaho IDA
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Iowa IOW
Kansas KAN
Kentucky KTY
Labrador LAB
Louisiana LOU
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Mississippi MSI
Missouri MSO
Montana MNT
Nebraska NEB
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Carolina NCA
North Dakota NDA
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Ohio OHI
Oklahoma OKL
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
Saskatchewan SAS
South Carolina SCA
South Dakota SDA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
Washington WAS
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 21 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Avena glumosa Michx.
  • Avena spicata L.
  • Avena spiciformis Roem. & Schult.
  • Danthonia glumosa P.Beauv.
  • Danthonia pinetorum (Piper) Piper
  • Danthonia spicata var. longipila Scribn. & Merr.
  • Danthonia spicata var. pinetorum Piper
  • Danthonia spicata var. spicata
  • Danthonia spicata var. typica Fernald
  • Danthonia spicata var. villosa Peck
  • Danthonia spiciformis P.Beauv.
  • Danthonia thermale Scribn.
  • Danthonia thermalis Scribn.
  • Merathrepta pinetorum (Piper) Piper
  • Merathrepta spicata Raf.
  • Merathrepta thermale (Scribn.) A.Heller
  • Merathrepta thermale var. pinetorum (Piper) Fedde & Just
  • Pentameris spicata (L.) A.Nelson & J.F.Macbr.
  • Pentameris thermale A.Nelson & J.F.Macbr.
  • Pentameris thermalis A.Nelson & J.F.Macbr.
  • Triodia glumosa P.Beauv.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.