Eastern Milkpea

Galactia regularis

Native to South Carolina (estimated)

Galactia regularis — flower photograph — no rights reserved · CC0 · Original photograph · iNaturalist medium image; no additional crop, retouching, or re-encoding.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including SC

Genus host records with ranges including SC · Galactia

Automeris ioIo Moth
Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
Gesta zaruccoZarucco Duskywing
Parectopa robiniellaLocust Digitate Leafminer
Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

30BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Galactia

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 · Galactia

Megachile brimleyi
Megachile integra

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

5BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
Francolinus francolinusBlack Francolin
Peucaea aestivalisBachman's Sparrow
Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Fabaceae
Hardiness: Zones 7a–9b
Soil pH: Acidic to neutral
Flower color: Pink or white

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Flower color · “Pink or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Hardiness · “Zones 7a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Soil · “Good drainage; Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Also known as

Eastern Milk Pea

Conservation status

South Carolina rank	Not available
Global rank	G5
SC status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources