Indian-hemp
Apocynum cannabinum
Found in forests, woodlands, roadsides, pastures. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
61
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 2–5 feet
- Spread
- 1.5–2.5 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- May to July
- Fruiting season
- September to October
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Recorded in 104 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 2
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 127 animals.
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Northern ParulaParula americana
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
17CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Apocynum
- Acronicta impressaImpressive Dagger, Printed Dagger
- Acronicta noctivagaNight-Wandering Dagger, Burglar Dagger
- Arctia parthenosSt. Lawrence Tiger Moth
- Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
- Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
- Clepsis clemensianaClemens' Clepsis
- Cycnia oregonensisOregon Cycnia
- Cycnia teneraDelicate Cycnia, Dogbane Tiger Moth
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Ostrinia penitalisAmerican Lotus Borer, Lily Moth
Show all 17
- Papaipema baptisiaeWild Indigo Borer, Indigo Stem Borer
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pygarctia abdominalisYellow-Edged Pygarctia
- Pyrrhia exprimensPurple-Lined Sallow, Purple-Lined Sun Moth
- Saucrobotys futilalisDogbane Saucrobotys
- Spargaloma sexpunctataSix-Spotted Gray
- Trichordestra legitimaStriped Garden Caterpillar Moth
18BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Apocynum
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
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimBeetles 1
- Trichius piger
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Flies 10
- Archytas analis
- Bombylius atriceps
- Cistogaster occidua
- Limnophora narona
- Phormia regina
- Sciara atrata
- Spallanzania hesperidarum
- Sphaerophoria cylindrica
- Trichophora ruficauda
- Tropidia quadrata
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Adult butterflies / moths 2
- Argynnis cybele
- Thecla calanus
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Other wasps 6
- Astatus unicolor
- Bicyrtes ventralis
- Isodontia apicalis
- Priononyx atrata
- Priononyx thomae
- Sphex vulgaris
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Other insects 2
- Lygaeus turcicus
- Lygus pratensis
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–11b
- Flower color
- Green, pink or white
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Single stem
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- September
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to July” · 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 · “Green, pink or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- 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 · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Single stem” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “2–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- 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); 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)
- Spread · “1.5–2.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Hemp Dogbane; Indian Hemp
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- 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