Heartleaf Golden-Alexanders
Zizia aptera
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1–3 feet
- Spread
- 1–1.5 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- April to May
Recorded in 12 Arkansas counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 106 animals.
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Snowy OwlBubo scandiacus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Zizia
- Papilio polyxenesBlack Swallowtail
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Papilio joanaeOzark Swallowtail, Ozark Woodland Swallowtail
- Agonopterix clemensella
- Epermenia pimpinella
10BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Zizia
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
1Specialist 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
- Apiaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–8b
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- Yellow
What its natural habitat tells you
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to May” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Flower color · “Yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · 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 (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–1.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Heartleaf Golden Alexanders; Heartleaf Zizia; Meadow Golden Alexanders; Meadow Zizia
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | S1S3 |
|---|---|
| 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.
Growing cautions
- Spreads. Will naturalize. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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