American Featherfoil
Hottonia inflata
Found in swamps; ponds, lakes and their shores; streams, rivers and their banks. 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 76%
- Height
- Up to about 20 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Wet to standing water

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- April to July
- Fruiting season
- May to August
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 10 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.


Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 126 animals.
- Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Rusty BlackbirdEuphagus carolinus
- Swallow-tailed KiteElanoides forficatus
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Wood StorkMycteria americana
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorum
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
Who uses this plant?
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Primulaceae
- Flower color
- White or green
- Fruit begins
- May
- Fruit ends
- August
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “Up to about 20 inches” · 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
- Soil · “Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Featherfoil
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | S2 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| 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)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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

























