Dwarf Locust
Robinia hispida var. nana
Found in longleaf pine sandhills, dry rocky forests (especially associated with chestnut oak). FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
70
Strong
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- Up to about 30 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- April to June
- Fruiting season
- July to October
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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 6 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 2
Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
59CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Robinia
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-spotted Skipper
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Acronicta americanaAmerican Dagger
- Actias lunaLuna Moth
- Alsophila pometariaFall Cankerworm Moth
- Amyelois transitellaNavel Orangeworm
- Anticarsia gemmatalisVelvetbean Caterpillar Moth
- Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
- Aroga trialbamaculellaRed-Striped Fireworm Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
Show all 59
- Biston betulariaSalt-and-Pepper Geometer, Cleft-Headed Looper
- Caloptilia stigmatellaPoplar Caloptilia
- Catocala habilisHabilis Underwing
- Catocala illectaMagdalen Underwing
- Celiptera frustulumBlack Bit Moth
- Ceratomia amyntorElm Sphinx
- Coelodasys unicornisUnicorn Caterpillar Moth
- Colias philodiceClouded Sulphur, Clover Butterfly
- Dasylophia anguinaBlack-Spotted Prominent
- Datana ministraYellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
- Digrammia ocellinataFaint-Spotted Angle
- Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
- Ecdytolopha insiticianaLocust Twig Borer Moth
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Euparthenos nubilisLocust Underwing
- Gesta icelusDreamy Duskywing
- Gesta zaruccoZarucco Duskywing
- Gymnandrosoma punctidiscanumDotted Gymnast, Dotted Ecdytolopha
- Halysidota tessellarisBanded Tussock Moth, Pale Tiger Moth
- Heliomata cycladataCommon Spring Moth, Stout Locust Looper
- Heliomata infulataRare Spring Moth
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Malacosoma disstriaForest Tent Caterpillar
- Mellilla xanthometataOrange Wing
- Nematocampa resistariaFilament Bearer, Horned Spanworm Moth
- Norape cretataWhite Flannel Moth
- Oedemasia concinnaRed-Humped Caterpillar, Red-Humped Appleworm
- Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Parectopa robiniellaLocust Digitate Leafminer
- Pero honestariaHonest Pero
- Prionoxystus robiniaeCarpenterworm Moth, Black Locust Borer, Cottonwood Borer
- Pseudanthracia coraciasPseudanthracia Moth
- Psilocorsis cryptolechiellaBlack-Fringed Leaftier
- Pyrrhia ciliscaAmerican Bordered Sallow, Noble Sun Moth
- Sciota subcaesiellaLocust Leafroller
- Sciota virgatellaBlack-Spotted Leafroller
- Selenisa sueroidesTailpipes, Pale-Edged Selenisa Moth
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Syssphinx bicolorHoney Locust Moth
- Tetracis cachexiataWhite Slant-Line
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Tlascala reductellaTlascala Moth, Honey Locust Leafroller
- Zale undularisBlack Zale
- Sinoe robiniella
1BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Robinia
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
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Robinia
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Columba liviaRock Pigeon
- Oreortyx pictusMountain Quail
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
- Fabaceae
- Flower color
- Pink
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “Up to about 30 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “pink” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Robinia hispida var. nana; Robinia nana and Robinia elliottii
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4Q |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
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Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- 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