Vegetable Hummingbird

Sesbania grandiflora

Found in disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 65%

Height: About 20 feet
Light: 2 or more hours of direct sun

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Hand-coloured plate of the Gray Kingbird by John James Audubon, The Birds of America, Havell plate 170 — John James Audubon · CC0 1.0 (NGA Open Access) · Original scan

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At a glance

Leaves: Evergreen
Bloom: Spring
Fruiting season: Spring to summer

Not yet recorded · Spread · Soil · Life cycle

Recorded in 2 Florida counties.

Habitats

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

21CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Sesbania

Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
Anticarsia gemmatalisVelvetbean Caterpillar Moth
Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
Gesta baptisiaeWild Indigo Duskywing, Baptisia Duskywing
Gesta zaruccoZarucco Duskywing
Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
Hemiargus ceraunusCeraunus Blue, Antillean Blue
Iridopsis defectariaBrown-Shaded Gray, Willow Looper
Iridopsis humariaSmall Purplish Gray

Show all 21

Leptotes cassiusCassius Blue, Tropical Striped Blue
Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
Psamatodes abydataDot-Lined Angle
Selenisa sueroidesTailpipes, Pale-Edged Selenisa Moth
Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
Dichomeris acuminatus
Ephyrodes cacata
Glympis concors

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
Francolinus francolinusBlack Francolin
Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Fabaceae
Flower color: White
Growth rate: Rapid
Growth habit: Single stem
Foliage color: Green
Fruit begins: Spring
Fruit ends: Summer

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

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Flower color · “White” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth habit · “Single stem” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Height · “About 20 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Leaf retention · “Evergreen” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
primary_flower_color · “white” · USDA PLANTS

Conservation status

Florida rank	SNA
Global rank	GNR
FL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source