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Barbed Rattlesnake Root

Prenanthes barbata

Also listed as Nabalus barbatus

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in limestone glades, calcareous barrens, and calcareous oak flatwoods. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

5
Modest

Native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 71%

Height
Up to about 5 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

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
Bloom
August to October

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

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.

1 of 2

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 126 animals.

All wildlife of Louisiana

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

0CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Lagopus lagopusWillow Ptarmigan
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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Flower color
White or yellow
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Prenanthes barbata

Conservation status

Louisiana rankS2
Global rankNot available
LA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

In your garden

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Sources