Buttonwood
Conocarpus erectus
Found in tidal swamps, coastal woodlands, and interior into calcareous habitats including pine rocklands, marl prairies. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 24%
Will it fit your yard?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 20 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.



Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 141 animals.
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown PelicanPelecanus occidentalis
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Cape May WarblerDendroica tigrina
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Common Ground-doveColumbina passerina
- Common LoonGavia immer
- Eastern Brown PelicanPelecanus occidentalis carolinensis
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- Eurasian WigeonAnas penelope
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleuca
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Laughing GullLeucophaeus atricilla
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- MerlinFalco columbarius
Who uses this plant?
9CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Conocarpus
- Aellopos tantalusTantalus Sphinx
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Cecrita cubanaCuban Heterocampa
- Epiblema tripartitanaThree-Parted Epiblema
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Motya abseuzalisButtonwood Punkie, Northern Motya
- Strymon martialisMartial Scrub-Hairstreak
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Combretaceae
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S4S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| FL 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 Florida Plants
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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

























