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Common Sweetleaf

Symplocos tinctoria

Found in moist bottomland forests, pocosin edges, moist forests, ridgetop pine and oak/pine forests, pine flatwoods, longleaf pine sandhills. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

45
Good

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

Profile 100%

Height
15–35 feet
Spread
15–20 feet
Light
Deep shade, Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 17.5 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Deciduous or semi-evergreen
Bloom
March to May
Fruiting season
August to September

Recorded in 54 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 5

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.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

Sandhills

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

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 139 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Symplocos

  • Callosamia prometheaPromethea Silkmoth, Promethea Moth
  • Coelodasys unicornisUnicorn Caterpillar Moth
  • Epimecis hortariaTulip-Tree Beauty
  • Satyrium kingiKing's Hairstreak
  • Cenopis lamberti
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
4BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Symplocos

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 claim

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Symplocaceae
Hardiness
Zones 7a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Cream or yellow
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color
Yellow-green
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
September

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “March to May” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Cream or yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
  • Foliage color · “Yellow-green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Fruit ends · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 7a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “15–35 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
  • Leaves · “Deciduous or semi-evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Light · “Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • primary_flower_color · “yellow” · USDA PLANTS
  • Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Spread · “15–20 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as

Horsesugar; Sweetleaf

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Growing cautions

  • Spreads by rhizomes. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as rhizomatous. USDA PLANTS

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources