Buckthorn Bumelia
Sideroxylon lycioides
Found in maritime forests and thickets; swamps; moist forests. 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 9.8 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- June to August
- Fruiting season
- September to November
Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 28 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 43 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (38)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Belted Kingfisher
- Blue Grosbeak
- Carolina Chickadee
- Carolina Wren
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Grackle
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eastern Towhee
- European Starling
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Hooded Merganser
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Sideroxylon
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Enaemia pupulaBumelia Leafworm Moth, Streaked Lactura
- Enaemia subfervensSpeckled Lactura
- Euerythra phasmaRed-Tailed Specter Moth
- Eustixia pupulaSpotted Peppergrass Moth
- Litodonta hydromeliOrange-Banded Prominent
- Urodus parvulaBumelia Webworm
- Zomaria interruptolineanaBroken-Lined Zomaria
8BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Sideroxylon
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
2Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Sideroxylon
- Colletes bumeliae
- Colletes inuncantipedis
1BirdsRecorded eating Sideroxylon in Mississippi
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Mississippi, most records first.
- White-winged Dove4 diet records
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 Sideroxylon 1
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
Plant details
- Family
- Sapotaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 8a–9b
- Flower color
- White
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Single crown
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- September
- Fruit ends
- November
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 8a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “About 9.8 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “white” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Buckthorn; Buckthorn Bully; Bumelia lycioides
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