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Virginia False Gromwell

Lithospermum virginianum

Found in sandhills; glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; forests and woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

43
Good

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

Profile 76%

Height
1–2 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
April to September
Fruiting season
Late May to October

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 32 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 3

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.

Sandhills

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

Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock

Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 92 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Lithospermum

  • Haploa leconteiLeconte's Haploa
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Ethmia longimaculella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
5BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Lithospermum

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
7BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Anthus spragueiiSprague's Pipit
  • Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
  • Perdix perdixGray Partridge
  • Rhynchophanes mccowniiMcCown's Longspur
  • Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
  • Tympanuchus phasianellusSharp-tailed Grouse
  • Zenaida macrouraMourning 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

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Boraginaceae
Flower color
Orange or yellow
Fruit begins
Late May
Fruit ends
October

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Onosmodium virginianum

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG4
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources