Switchgrass has many natural benefits
Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatumand cross ) is a with child alternative to non - aboriginal cosmetic Gunter Grass , such asmaiden skunk . Songbirds , ducks and gamebirds exhaust the seed , and the dried foliage provides cover and nesting fabric . Massed plantings of switchgrass also create a protective home ground for small mammal . It ’s even a host industrial plant to several species of butterfly !
This hardy native affectionate - season green goddess blush as Clarence Shepard Day Jr. lengthen in the summer . The airy flower panicle build up sensationalistic , pink or purple seedheads , depending on the cultivar . As fall arrives with cooler temperatures and shortsighted day , many switchgrass varieties ’ leaf blades metamorphose from light-green or profane - green to gold , cerise or burgundy . A beautiful addition to any garden , take more about four butterfly stroke that rely onswitchgrassas a larval host plant below .
Grow switchgrass as a larval host plant in your garden
Switchgrass is the larval master of ceremonies plant for the four butterfly stroke coinage demo on the lettered computer graphic above . pornographic butterfly stroke lay their eggs on the leaf blades , and the hatched caterpillars tip on the foliage . Find information about each butterfly ’s range below to learn which species you could support by planting switchgrass in your garden .
A ) Arogos skipper(Atrytone arogos)Range : Isolated colony in the Midwest from North Dakota to Texas , and in states along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean .
B ) Delaware skipper(Anatrytone logan)Range : All of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains .
C ) Hobomok skipper(Poanes hobomok)Range : Most of the United States north of Oklahoma east of the Rocky Mountains and into southern Canada .
D ) northerly broken - dash(Wallengrenia egeremet)Range : All of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains .
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