Smooth False-buttonweed
Spermacoce glabra
Found in moist shores, bottomlands, riverside drawdowns, rocky riversides in the mountains, disturbed areas in the Coastal Plain. 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 88%
- Height
- Up to about 2 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to October
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 19 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 103 animals.
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Mississippi KiteIctinia mississippiensis
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- Orange-crowned WarblerVermivora celata
- Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Rose-breasted GrosbeakPheucticus ludovicianus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
- Rusty BlackbirdEuphagus carolinus
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
Who uses this plant?
6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Spermacoce
- Cyclophora nanariaDwarf Tawny Wave
- Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
- Syngamia florellaOrange-Spotted Flower Moth
- Xylophanes tersaTersa Sphinx
25BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Spermacoce
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
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Rubiaceae
- Flower color
- White
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 2 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Smooth False Buttonweed
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4G5 |
| 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
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- 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