Purple False Foxglove
Agalinis purpurea
Found in woodlands, wet meadows, roadsides, in a wide variety of open habitats. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1–4 feet
- Spread
- 8–18 inches
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- Fall
- Fruiting season
- September to December
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 85 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Agalinis
- Junonia coeniaCommon Buckeye
- Endothenia hebesanaVerbena Bud Moth
- Euphydryas phaetonThe Baltimore, The Black Checker
- Pyrrhia aurantiagoOrange Sallow, False Foxglove Sun Moth
27BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Agalinis
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 · Agalinis
- Anthophorula micheneri
- Perdita gerardiae
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Orobanchaceae
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Pink, purple or white
- Fruit begins
- September
- Fruit ends
- December
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Flower color · “Pink, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Fruit begins · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “December” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “1–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Life cycle · “Annual” · 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 (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “8–18 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA 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
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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