Spreading Chervil
Chaerophyllum procumbens
Found in alluvial forests, moist slope forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 71%
- Height
- 6 inches–1.5 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- March to April
- Fruiting season
- April to May
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 20 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 85 animals.
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- Orange-crowned WarblerVermivora celata
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
- Rusty BlackbirdEuphagus carolinus
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
Who uses this plant?
Beetles 1
- Glyptina spuria
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Flies 12
- Chilosia petulca
- Elachiptera costata
- Myospila meditabunda
- Orthoneura nitida
- Pipiza femoralis
- Psilota buccata
- Sepsis violacea
- Simulium pecuarum
- Sphaerophoria cylindrica
- Syrphus americanus
Show all 12
- Syrphus ribesii
- Syrphus torvus
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Other wasps 3
- Chrysocharis oscinidis
- Gambrus albonotatus
- Gambrus apicatus
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Other insects 2
- Corimelaena lateralis
- Corimelaena pulicaria
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Adult butterflies / moths
Plant details
- Family
- Apiaceae
- Flower color
- White
- Fruit begins
- April
- Fruit ends
- May
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late March to April” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “April” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “6 inches–1.5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























