Xanthium strumarium
Xanthium strumarium
—
Not native
Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 59%
- Height
- 2–4 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Leaves
- Deciduous
Not yet recorded · Spread · Bloom
Recorded in 49 Alabama counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Xanthium
- Adaina ambrosiaeAmbrosia Plume Moth, Ragweed Plume Moth
- Epiblema strenuanaRagweed Borer
- Euxoa detersaRubbed Dart, Sandhill Cutworm
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Ogdoconta cinereolaCommon Pinkband Groundling
- Ostrinia obumbratalisSmartweed Borer
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Rachiplusia ouGray Looper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Show all 13
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Helcystogramma melantherella
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
5BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Xanthium
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
- Quiscalus quisculaCommon Grackle
- Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
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
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Green or purple
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Green or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Height · “2–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Fire Effects Information System: Xanthium strumarium, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Minnesota Wildflowers differ)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “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
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- 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