Scarlet Toothcup
Ammannia coccinea
Found in marshes, ditches, exposed muddy river shores and banks, wet pine flatwoods, other wet places. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Mississippi (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- About 1.6 feet
- Light
- Part shade
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
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At a glance
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- July to October
- Fruiting season
- Spring to fall
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle
Recorded in 43 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.
Who uses this plant?
0CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
9BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Ammannia
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
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Ammannia
- Anas acutaNorthern Pintail
- Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
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
Flies 1
- Spallanzania hesperidarum
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Adult butterflies / moths 2
- Eurema lisa
- Pontia protodice
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Lythraceae
- Flower color
- Purple
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Single crown
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Fall
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 (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Purple” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 1.6 feet” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Leaf retention · “Deciduous” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Light · “Part shade (3–6 hours)” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Soil · “Wet; Wet-mesic” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
Also known as
Valley Redstem
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| MS 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), South Central edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Mississippi 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