Devil's-bit
Chamaelirium luteum
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in moist slopes, bottomlands, wet pine savannas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist

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
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- March to May
- Fruiting season
- September to November
Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 4 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.
Who uses this plant?
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Chionographidaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- White
- Fruit begins
- September
- Fruit ends
- November
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “March to May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–2 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- primary_flower_color · “white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Blazing Star; Devil's bit; Devils Bit; Fairy Wand
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | S2S3 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA 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
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Louisiana occurrence source
- 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

