Large Thymeleaf Sandwort
Arenaria serpyllifolia
Found in disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 65%
- Height
- 2–16 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- March to July
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 93 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
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. 53 animals.
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Olive-sided FlycatcherContopus cooperi
- Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Snowy OwlBubo scandiacus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Summer TanagerPiranga rubra
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
Who uses this plant?
Plant details
- Family
- Caryophyllaceae
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “March to July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “2–16 inches” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Thymeleaf Sandwort
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- 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

























