Sandhills Bean
Phaseolus polystachios var. sinuatus
Found in longleaf pine sandhills, especially in loamier, more moist swales. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- July to September
- Fruiting season
- August to October
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves
Height: NC species account not read yet.
Spread and leaves: no source found yet.
Recorded in 27 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.
Who uses this plant?
68CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Phaseolus
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Agrotis malefidaRascal Dart, Pale-Sided Cut-Worm, Shagreened Cut-Worm
- Agrotis vetustaOld Man Dart
- Amyelois transitellaNavel Orangeworm
- Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
- Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
- Anomis flavaTropical Anomis Moth
Show all 68
- Anticarsia gemmatalisVelvetbean Caterpillar Moth
- Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Autoplusia egenaBean-Leaf Skeletonizer Moth
- Cecropterus bathyllusSouthern Cloudywing
- Cecropterus dorantesDorantes Longtail, Lilac-Banded Longtail
- Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
- Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
- Dasylophia thyatiroidesGray-Patched Prominent
- Dysodia oculatanaEyed Thyris
- Elaphria agrotinaBicolored Midget
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
- Feltia herilisMaster's Dart
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Feltia repletaReplete Dart
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Fundella pellucensCaribbean Podborer
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Hemiargus ceraunusCeraunus Blue, Antillean Blue
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Leptotes cassiusCassius Blue, Tropical Striped Blue
- Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
- Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
- Monoptilota pergratialisLima Bean Vine Borer
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Ogdoconta cinereolaCommon Pinkband Groundling
- Omiodes indicataBean-Leaf Webworm Moth
- Palthis asopialisFaint-Spotted Palthis
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Rachiplusia ouGray Looper
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Telegonus cellusGolden Banded-Skipper , Golden-Banded Skipper
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Trichordestra legitimaStriped Garden Caterpillar Moth
- Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
- Ufa rubedinellaRed Washed Ufa
- Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Xylophanes tersaTersa Sphinx
- Amorbia concavana
- Ancylostomia stercorea
- Phidotricha erigens
- Porphyrosela desmodiella
7BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Phaseolus
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
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Phaseolus
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Perdix perdixGray Partridge
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
- Purple
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Phaseolus polystachios var. sinuatus
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T3? [G3?] |
| 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)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: South Central (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Florida (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- 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

