Southern Twayblade
Neottia bifolia
Found in swamps; floodplain and bottomland forests; depression ponds and limesinks. 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 76%
- Height
- Up to about 1 foot
- Light
- Full shade
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- January to July
- Fruiting season
- March to August
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 19 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
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.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 114 animals.
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Wood StorkMycteria americana
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-crowned Night-heronNyctanassa violacea
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- American CootFulica americana
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- Fulvous Whistling-duckDendrocygna bicolor
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritus
Who uses this plant?
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Orchidaceae
- Flower color
- Red, green, purple or brown
- Fruit begins
- March
- Fruit ends
- August
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “January to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Red, green, purple or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “March” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “Up to about 1 foot” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Full shade (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Listera australis
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S3S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| 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
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition
- 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

























