Eastern Bloodleaf

Iresine rhizomatosa

Found in Coastal dunes and beaches; forest edges and thickets; Coastal Plain hammocks; maritime forests and thickets; floodplain and bottomland forests; streams, rivers and their banks; forests and woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

19

Modest

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 88%

Height: Up to about 3 feet
Light: Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to wet

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At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: August to October

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 13 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 7

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields — Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

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.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

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.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 123 animals.

Common Grackle
Quiscalus quiscula
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Towhee
Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Wood-pewee
Contopus virens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Gadwall
Anas strepera
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Golden-winged Warbler
Vermivora chrysoptera
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Great Crested Flycatcher
Myiarchus crinitus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Hermit Thrush
Catharus guttatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Hooded Warbler
Wilsonia citrina
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Least Bittern
Ixobrychus exilis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Least Flycatcher
Empidonax minimus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Orchard Oriole
Icterus spurius
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ovenbird
Seiurus aurocapilla
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Melanerpes carolinus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ruddy Duck
Oxyura jamaicensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivacea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Sora
Porzana carolina
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Swainson's Warbler
Limnothlypis swainsonii
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Veery
Catharus fuscescens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-eyed Vireo
Vireo griseus
Birds. 1 shared habitat

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Iresine

Anomis flavaTropical Anomis Moth
Staphylus hayhurstiiHayhurst's Scallopwing, Scalloped Sooty Wing, Scalloped Sootywing

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

0BeesSoutheastern regional records

0Specialist beesPollen specialists

—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Amaranthaceae
Flower color: White or green

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

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “August to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “White or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “Up to about 3 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Life cycle · “Perennial” · 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 · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Bloodleaf

Conservation status

Alabama rank	SNR
Global rank	G5
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources