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Trifoliate Orange

Citrus trifoliata

Found in bottomland and riparian forests, moist upland forests, stream banks, spring runs, fencerows, roadsides, becoming common especially in suburban areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

-55
Severe harm

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

Profile 82%

Height
8–20 feet
Spread
6–15 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet
See native alternatives

Do not plant. Listed invasive in Alabama.

Plant this instead

Choose your county to list local plants first.

  • American Plum
    Prunus americana

    Sun: Full sun, Partial shade. Soil: Somewhat dry to moist. Flowers: White.

    Similar growth form, height, evergreen or deciduous

  • Chickasaw Plum
    Prunus angustifolia

    Sun: Full sun, Partial shade. Soil: Somewhat dry to moist. Flowers: White.

    Similar growth form, height, spread

  • Smooth Sumac
    Rhus glabra

    Sun: Full sun, Partial shade. Soil: Somewhat dry to moist. Flowers: Green or white.

    Similar growth form, height, spread

Refine these alternatives in the finder

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At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
March to June
Fruiting season
September to October

Recorded in 38 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 5

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 89 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

45CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Citrus

  • Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
  • Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
  • Amphion floridensisNessus Sphinx
  • Amyelois transitellaNavel Orangeworm
  • Anatrachyntis badiaFlorida Pink Scavanger Caterpillar
  • Anatrachyntis rileyiPink Scavanger Caterpillar
  • Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
  • Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
  • Argyrotaenia ivanaIvana Leafroller Moth
  • Argyrotaenia kimballiKimball's Leafroller Moth
Show all 45
  • Automeris ioIo Moth
  • Clepsis peritanaGarden Tortrix
  • Cryptothelea gloveriiOrange Bagworm
  • Dichomeris citrifoliellaOrange Webworm Moth
  • Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
  • Euclea delphiniiSpiny Oak-Slug Moth
  • Harrisina americanaGrapeleaf Skeletonizer Moth
  • Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
  • Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
  • Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
  • Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
  • Hypocala andremonaHypocala Moth
  • Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
  • Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
  • Oxydia vesuliaSpurge Spanworm Moth
  • Papilio cresphontesEastern Giant Swallowtail
  • Phobetron pitheciumHag Moth, Monkey Slug
  • Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
  • Platynota idaeusalisTufted Apple-Bud Moth
  • Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
  • Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
  • Prolimacodes badiaSkiff Moth, Skiff Caterpillar
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
  • Tallula watsoniWatson's Tallula
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
  • Urodus parvulaBumelia Webworm
  • Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
  • Phidotricha erigens
  • Prochalia pygmaea
  • Tallula atrifascialis
  • Zale fictilis
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 · Citrus

  • Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
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
Rutaceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
White
Fruit begins
September
Fruit ends
October

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Poncirus trifoliata

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNA
Global rankGNR
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Sources