Common Wild Oatgrass vs Flat-Stem Oat Grass

Danthonia spicata compared with Danthonia compressa

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Wild Oatgrass	Flat-Stem Oat Grass
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order same	Poales (Grasses)	Poales (Grasses)
Family same	Poaceae (Grass Family)	Poaceae (Grass Family)
Genus same	Danthonia	Danthonia
Species	Danthonia spicata	Danthonia compressa

Evolutionary Relationship

Common Wild Oatgrass and Flat-Stem Oat Grass share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Danthonia.

Conservation Status

Common Wild Oatgrass

NE — Not Evaluated

Flat-Stem Oat Grass

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Wild Oatgrass	Flat-Stem Oat Grass
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Wild Oatgrass

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Distributed across Canada, France, Norway, Portugal, and United States.

Flat-Stem Oat Grass

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Distributed across Canada and United States.

Common Wild Oatgrass

<em>Danthonia spicata</em>, commonly known as common wild oatgrass or poverty oatgrass, is a perennial native grass in the family Poaceae. Its conservation status is listed as Not Evaluated by the IUCN. The species is distributed across a wide range of North America and parts of Europe, with confirmed records from Canada, the United States, France, Norway, and Portugal. It typically grows in dry, infertile, and often acidic soils in open woodlands, dry prairies, rocky outcrops, and disturbed habitats, where its tolerance for low-nutrient conditions gives it a competitive advantage. The common name "poverty oatgrass" refers to its association with impoverished soils. <em>Danthonia spicata</em> is a low-growing tufted grass that typically reaches 20–60 cm in height, producing open panicles with relatively few spikelets. The species exhibits a characteristic behavior known as cleistogamy, producing self-fertilizing florets that develop within the leaf sheaths at the base of the plant, ensuring seed production even under unfavorable conditions. This reproductive strategy allows colonization and persistence in marginal habitats. Biological traits including average lifespan, precise stem height, and mass remain poorly documented in standardized databases. Ecologically, common wild oatgrass contributes to soil stabilization in dry, erosion-prone habitats and provides low-level forage for grassland invertebrates and small mammals across its range in temperate North America and Europe.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇨🇦 Canada 🇺🇸 United States