Slender Woodoats

Chasmanthium laxum

native · Central Texas

Slender Woodoats is a grass native to Central Texas that grows 2–3 ft tall and 2 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low water. Blooms green in summer. Good for birds and butterflies.

Wet ground only. Usually found in wetlands and creek bottoms. It wants reliably moist ground and struggles in a dry upland bed.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

4 sources

Type: Grass
Sun: Full sun to part shade (4–8 hrs of direct sun)
Water: Low
Height: 2–3 ft
Spread: 2 ft
Bloom: Summer · green
Foliage: Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil: Recorded on dry, moist, well drained
Wildlife: Supports birds, browsing mammals and butterflies

Where it grows

Recorded in this EPA Level IV ecoregion in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Floodplains and Low Terraces

69 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.