Sour Orange

Citrus × aurantium

—

Not native

Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 6%

No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…

At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 36 Florida counties.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

56CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Citrus

Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
Amphion floridensisNessus Sphinx
Amyelois transitellaNavel Orangeworm
Anartia jatrophaeWhite Peacock
Anatrachyntis badiaFlorida Pink Scavanger Caterpillar
Anatrachyntis rileyiPink Scavanger Caterpillar
Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
Argyrotaenia amatanaPondapple Leafroller Moth

Show all 56

Argyrotaenia ivanaIvana Leafroller Moth
Argyrotaenia kimballiKimball's Leafroller Moth
Automeris ioIo Moth
Clepsis peritanaGarden Tortrix
Cryptothelea gloveriiOrange Bagworm
Dichomeris citrifoliellaOrange Webworm Moth
Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
Euclea delphiniiSpiny Oak-Slug Moth
Feltia repletaReplete Dart
Harrisina americanaGrapeleaf Skeletonizer Moth
Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
Hypocala andremonaHypocala Moth
Marmara gulosaCitrus Peelminer
Marmara salictellaWillow Stem Miner
Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
Oxydia vesuliaSpurge Spanworm Moth
Papilio andraemonBahama Swallowtail
Papilio cresphontesEastern Giant Swallowtail
Phobetron pitheciumHag Moth, Monkey Slug
Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
Platynota idaeusalisTufted Apple-Bud Moth
Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
Prolimacodes badiaSkiff Moth, Skiff Caterpillar
Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
Syntomeida ipomoeaeYellow-Banded Wasp Moth
Tallula watsoniWatson's Tallula
Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
Urodus parvulaBumelia Webworm
Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
Acrolophus harparsen
Calosima albapenella
Coleotechnites citriella
Hyalorista exuvialis
Phidotricha erigens
Prochalia pygmaea
Tallula atrifascialis
Zale fictilis

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Citrus

Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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: Rutaceae

What its natural habitat tells you

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

Conservation status

Florida rank	SNA
Global rank	Not available
FL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden