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False Fennel

Eupatorium leptophyllum

Found in limesink depression ponds (dolines) in the outer Coastal Plain and clay-based Carolina bays in the inner Coastal Plain. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

81
Keystone

Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 88%

Height
Up to about 6 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
September to November

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 51 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 116 animals.

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

38CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Eupatorium

  • Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
  • Carmenta bassiformisEupatorium Borer Moth, Ironweed Clearwing Moth
  • Carmenta pyralidiformisBoneset Borer Moth
  • Carmenta texanaTexana Clearwing Moth
  • Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure
  • Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
  • Chlorostrymon simaethisSilver-Banded Hairstreak
  • Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
  • Cisseps fulvicollisYellow-Collared Scape Moth
  • Condica vecorsDusky Groundling
Show all 38
  • Dichomeris setosellaHairy Dichomeris
  • Digrammia continuataCurve-Lined Angle
  • Dysodia oculatanaEyed Thyris
  • Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
  • Eugnosta erigeronanaFleabane Cochylid
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Haploa clymeneClymene Moth
  • Hellinsia unicolorUnmarked Plume Moth
  • Oedemasia concinnaRed-Humped Caterpillar, Red-Humped Appleworm
  • Oenobotys vinotinctalisWine-Tinted Oenobotys Moth
  • Oidaematophorus eupatoriiEupatorium Plume Moth
  • Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
  • Ostrinia obumbratalisSmartweed Borer
  • Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
  • Papaipema harrisiiHeracleum Stem Borer Moth, Cow Parsnip Borer
  • Patania silicalisHerbivorous Patania, Herbivorous Pleuroptya
  • Perigea xanthioidesRed Groundling
  • Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
  • Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
  • Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
  • Schinia trifasciaThree-Lined Flower Moth
  • Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
  • Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
  • Tornos scolopacinariaDimorphic Gray
  • Dichomeris aglaia
  • Dichrorampha leopardana
  • Hellinsia habecki
  • Niasoma metallicana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
34BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Eupatorium

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
2Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Eupatorium

  • Colletes simulans
  • Megachile xylocopoides
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
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Flower color
White

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Eupatorium capillifolium var. leptophyllum

Conservation status

Florida rankS5
Global rankG5
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources