American Bluehearts
Buchnera americana
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone; glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; prairies and grasslands; wet meadows; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- Up to about 3 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- June to September
- Fruiting season
- August to October
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 10 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.
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.
Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.
Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.
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 Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 36 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (50)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Belted Kingfisher
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Bluebird
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Harris's Sparrow
- Hooded Merganser
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orchard Oriole
- Osprey
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Wood Thrush
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Buchnera
- Junonia coeniaCommon Buckeye
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
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
- Orobanchaceae
- Flower color
- White, pink or purple
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White, pink or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “Up to about 3 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual” · 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
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Prairie Blue Hearts
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5? |
| AR 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
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- 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