Woolly Croton
Croton capitatus
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in glades, prairies, woodlands, fields, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 2–3 feet
- Spread
- 3–6 inches
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- July to October
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 57 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 59 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (17)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
Who uses this plant?
11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Croton
- Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
- Anaea andriaGoatweed Leafwing , Goatweed Leaf Wing
- Anaea troglodytaFlorida Leafwing, Florida Leaf Wing
- Calycopis cecropsRed-Banded Hairstreak, Cecrops Hairstreak
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Oxydia vesuliaSpurge Spanworm Moth
- Seirarctia echoEcho Moth
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
Show all 11
- Xylophanes tersaTersa Sphinx
13BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Croton
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
1Specialist beesPollen specialists
12BirdsRecorded eating Croton in Louisiana
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Louisiana, most records first.
- White-winged Dove80 diet records
- Common Ground-dove36 diet records
- Mourning Dove16 diet records
- Northern Bobwhite15 diet records
- American Pipit1 diet record
- European Starling1 diet record
- House FinchSeeds. 1 diet record
- Red-winged Blackbird1 diet record
- Song SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- Spotted TowheeSeeds. 1 diet record
Show all 12
- Sprague's Pipit1 diet record
- Wood ThrushFruit and seeds. 1 diet record
Direct food only. 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
Birds that eat Croton 12
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Common Ground-doveColumbina passerina
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Spotted TowheePipilo maculatus
- Sprague's PipitAnthus spragueii
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
Plant details
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–7b
- Flower color
- Inconspicuous or white
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Inconspicuous or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–7b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “2–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “3–6 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Hogwort
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| 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
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- 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