Virginia Wild Rye is grazed by many species, including geese and insects. The seeds are eaten by small mammals, and the grass blades are used for denning and nesting material. These plants mature quite quickly and often fade within a few years allowing slower maturing species to take over. They are very adaptable, growing in marshes, cliffs, bals or ledges, coastal beaches, forests, shores of rivers or lakes, and wetland marshes.