Southern Twayblade
Listera australis
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in swamps; floodplain and bottomland forests. 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 76%
- Height
- Up to about 1 foot
- Light
- Full shade
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- January to July
- Fruiting season
- March to August
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 33 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 93 animals.
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- American Black DuckAnas rubripes
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- AnhingaAnhinga anhinga
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Black-bellied Whistling-DuckDendrocygna autumnalis
- Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticorax
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Boat-tailed GrackleQuiscalus major
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
Who uses this plant?
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Orchidaceae
- Flower color
- Red, green, purple or brown
- Fruit begins
- March
- Fruit ends
- August
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “January to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Red, green, purple or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “March” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “Up to about 1 foot” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Full shade (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Listera australis
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
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- 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

























