This perennial grass has loose tufts of erect, leafy culms (stems) that typically reach 3 feet in height. Each fertile culm is topped by a pyramidal panicle of reddish-purple spikelets in the fall. The arching, medium green leaf blades and fibrous root system make redtop panic grass an attractive choice for erosion control in wet to consistently moist areas with full or partial sun. Unlike rhizomatous grasses, it spreads mostly by reseeding and will form semi-open colonies in favorable conditions. Although uncommon in Ohio, redtop panic grass is found in the eastern hills and in the Interior Low Plateau, which is an unglaciated region that includes a very small portion of southwest Ohio.
Redtop panic grass used to be in the Panicum genus, but it now resides in the genus Coleataenia. Members of Coleataenia differ from those of Panicum in that the spikelets are nearly stalkless and only grow on one side of each branch. Plus, Coleataenia rigidula's lower stems are relatively flattened, unlike species in the Panicum genus.
Native habitats include wet sandy or peaty soils, low woods, meadows, marshes, shores, swamps, and ditches. Use in low areas around ponds, moist woodlands or meadows, and on moist slopes. Pollinators will use overwintering stems for habitat.
Plant Characteristics:
Grows 1.5 - 3' tall and occasionally up to 5' tall in ideal conditions.
Grows in full or part sun.
Prefers wet to consistently moist sandy or non-sandy soils with an abundance of decayed organic matter. Tolerates occasional standing water.
Flowers and fruits September-October. Solitary spikelets on short pedicels often occur in a row along one side of the branches. Immature spikelets are light to medium reddish purple, becoming straw colored with age. Individual florets are cross-pollinated by the wind, and individual spikelets produce a solitary grain. Reproduces by reseeding.
Leaf blades are up to 20" long, 1/2" wide, and hairless. The sheaths are a lighter green, vertically veined, somewhat compressed, rather loose, and hairless.
Root system consists of a short crown with fibrous roots.
Wildlife Value:
Host plant for 27 Lepidoptera species, including northern pearly eye and northern broken dash butterflies, hobomok skipper, the pink-streak moth, and 12 specialist moths. Other insects that feed on the plant include larvae of grass leaf-miner moths, gall flies, stink bugs, aphids, leafhoppers, mealybugs, leaf beetles, and grasshoppers. Seeds are eaten by song birds and small mammals in the winter. Resistant to deer browse.
Medicinal, Edible, and Other Uses:
Resources:
Flora of Southeastern US: https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/show-taxon-detail.php?taxonid=2179
Illinois Wildflowers: https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/plants/redtop_panic.html
WFO Plantlist: https://wfoplantlist.org/taxon/wfo-0001042894-2025-06