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Spreading Spiderling

Boerhavia diffusa

Found in longleaf pine sandhills, vacant lots, road shoulders, other dry disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 59%

Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual or perennial
Bloom
January to December

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 7 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Boerhavia

  • Archirhoe neomexicanaNew Mexico Carpet
  • Disclisioprocta stellataSomber Carpet, Bougainvillea Looper
  • Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
  • Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Boerhavia

  • Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Nyctaginaceae
Flower color
Red or purple

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “January to December” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Red or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Life cycle · “Annual or perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources