Poponax
Vachellia tortuosa
Found in shell middens, coastal scrub. 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?
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Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 3 Florida counties.
Who uses this plant?
17CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Vachellia
- Amyelois transitellaNavel Orangeworm
- Cyclargus ammonNickerbean Blue, Miami Blue
- Cyclophora nanariaDwarf Tawny Wave
- Ithome concolorellaKiawe Flower Moth
- Leptotes cassiusCassius Blue, Tropical Striped Blue
- Mesophleps adustipennisSoybean Webworm Moth
- Ministrymon aziaGray Ministreak, Azia Hairstreak, Light-Banded Hairstreak
- Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Polyhymno luteostrigellaPolyhymno Moth
Show all 17
- Psamatodes abydataDot-Lined Angle
- Rudenia leguminanaBlack-Tipped Rudenia Moth
- Apotoforma rotundipennis
- Cydia largo
- Isogona scindens
- Megalorhipida leucodactylus
- Melipotis famelica
1BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Vachellia
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 · Vachellia
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
- Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
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
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| 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
- 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

