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Bristly Sarsaparilla

Aralia hispida

Found in forests and woodlands; granite and other acidic rock outcrops; forest edges and thickets. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

69
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 24%

Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

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 9 Virginia counties and cities.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 118 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

14CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Aralia

  • Amorbia humerosanaWhite-Lined Leafroller Moth
  • Apatelodes torrefactaSpotted Apatelodes
  • Celastrina ladonSpring Azure
  • Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure
  • Coelostathma discopunctanaThe Batman Moth
  • Dichomeris juncidellaOrange-Dotted Dichomeris
  • Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
  • Eupithecia satyrataSatyr Pug
  • Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
  • Iridopsis defectariaBrown-Shaded Gray, Willow Looper
Show all 14
  • Iridopsis ephyrariaPale-Winged Gray
  • Machimia tentoriferellaGold-Striped Leaftier Moth
  • Orthosia rubescensRuby Quaker
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
13BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Aralia

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
6BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Hylocichla mustelinaWood Thrush
  • Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
  • Catharus minimus/bicknelliGray-cheeked/Bicknell's Thrush
  • Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
  • Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
  • Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. 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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Family not recorded

Conservation status

Virginia rankS2
Global rankNot available
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

In your garden

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Sources