Littleleaf Milkpea
Galactia minor
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in longleaf pine sandhills. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 71%
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Fruiting season
- July to October
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves · Bloom
Height and bloom: NC species account not read yet.
Spread and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 14 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 153 animals.
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleuca
- Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- Laughing GullLeucophaeus atricilla
- Le Conte's SparrowAmmodramus leconteii
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- Little GullHydrocoloeus minutus
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus
- Long-billed CurlewNumenius americanus
- Long-billed DowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceus
- Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoa
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
Who uses this plant?
12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Galactia
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Cecropterus dorantesDorantes Longtail, Lilac-Banded Longtail
- Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
- Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
- Epargyreus zestosZestos Skipper
- Gesta zaruccoZarucco Duskywing
- Leptotes cassiusCassius Blue, Tropical Striped Blue
- Parectopa robiniellaLocust Digitate Leafminer
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
Show all 12
- Acalyptris tenuijuxtus
- Antaeotricha floridella
30BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Galactia
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 · Galactia
- Megachile brimleyi
- Megachile integra
5BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Galactia
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Francolinus francolinusBlack Francolin
- Peucaea aestivalisBachman's Sparrow
- Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
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
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Flower color
- White, yellow or purple
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “White, yellow or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “July” · 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
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “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
Galactia microphylla
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| 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
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- 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

























