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Prickly Fanpetals

Sida spinosa

Found in disturbed areas, wet fields. 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 71%

Height
1.5–3 feet
Spread
6 inches–1.5 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual

Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: recorded only in the FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) phone app (app page).

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 23 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 2

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

22CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Sida

  • Anomis erosaYellow Scallop Moth, Mallow Caterpillar
  • Anomis flavaTropical Anomis Moth
  • Bagisara repandaCommon Sida Tumbler, Wavy Lined Mallow Moth
  • Burnsius albezensWhite Checkered-Skipper, Western Checkered Skipper
  • Burnsius communisCommon Checkered-Skipper
  • Burnsius oileusTropical Checkered-Skipper
  • Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
  • Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
  • Hypena minualisMallow Snout
  • Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
Show all 22
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
  • Spragueia apicalisYellow Spragueia
  • Stegasta capitellaTeaweed Moth
  • Strymon istapaMallow Scrub-Hairstreak, Dotted Hairstreak; Modest Hairstreak, [Columella Hairstreak : former mis-applied name]
  • Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
  • Tarache tetragonaFour-Spot Bird-Dropping Moth
  • Acrocercops quinquistrigella
  • Helvibotys helvialis
  • Hypena vetustalis
  • Mimophobetron pyropsalis
  • Neotischeria neotropicana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Columbina passerinaCommon Ground 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
Malvaceae
Soil pH
Acidic to neutral
Flower color
Yellow, orange or white

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Prickly Mallow; Prickly Sida

Conservation status

Florida rankSNA
Global rankG5?
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources