Red Buckeye; Scarlet Buckeye
Aesculus pavia var. pavia
Found in forests and woodlands; streams, rivers and their banks; floodplain and bottomland forests; maritime forests and thickets. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 24%

At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 5 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Streams, rivers and their banks

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 91 animals.
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Orange-crowned WarblerVermivora celata
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
Who uses this plant?
36CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Aesculus
- Achatia distinctaDistinct Quaker
- Acronicta americanaAmerican Dagger
- Actias lunaLuna Moth
- Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
- Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
- Archips rileyanaSouthern Ugly-Nest Caterpillar Moth
- Cecrita biundataWavy-Lined Heterocampa
- Cecrita guttivittaMaple Prominent, Saddled Prominent
- Celypha nr.Celypha Moth
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
Show all 36
- Dasychira dorsipennataSharp-Lined Tussock Moth
- Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
- Egira alternansAlternate Woodling
- Ennomos subsignariaElm Spanworm Moth
- Epiglaea declivaSloping Sallow
- Halysidota tessellarisBanded Tussock Moth, Pale Tiger Moth
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Isa textulaCrowned Slug
- Lithophane antennataAshen Pinion
- Lithophane baileyiBailey's Pinion
- Lithophane groteiGrote's Pinion, Green Fruit Worm
- Lithophane joannisBuckeye Pinion
- Lophocampa caryaeHickory Tussock Moth, Hickory Tiger Moth
- Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
- Nematocampa resistariaFilament Bearer, Horned Spanworm Moth
- Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
- Proteoteras aesculanaMaple Seed Caterpillar, Maple Twig Borer
- Psaphida rolandiRoland's Sallow
- Pseudexentera spolianaBare-Patched Leafroller
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Trigrammia quadrinotariaFour-Spotted Angle
- Zeiraphera claypoleanaBuckeye Petiole Borer
- Olethreutes monetiferanum
Plant details
- Family
- SAPINDACEAE
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- 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

























