Clasping Venus's-looking-glass
Triodanis perfoliata
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in roadsides, gardens, glades, dry forests, 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
- 4–30 inches
- Light
- Full sun, Part shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- April to July
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 62 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Who uses this plant?
5BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Triodanis
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
Pollen specialists · Triodanis
- Colletes brevicornis
Flies 1
- Anthrax sinuosa
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Adult butterflies / moths 1
- Pholisora hayhurstii
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Campanulaceae
- Flower color
- Purple
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Purple” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Height · “4–30 inches” · Minnesota Wildflowers (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Full sun (6+ hours); Part shade (3–6 hours)” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- primary_flower_color · “purple” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide
- Soil · “Dry” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
Also known as
Clasping Venus Looking Glass; Clasping Venus's looking glass; Specularia perfoliata
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

