Buckwheat Vine

Brunnichia ovata

Found in floodplain forests, swamp forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 53%

Soil moisture: Average to wet

Brunnichia ovata — fruit photograph — (c) Scott Allen Davis, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: May to July
Fruiting season: August to September

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Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 3 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

Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 112 animals.

Osprey
Pandion haliaetus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ovenbird
Seiurus aurocapilla
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Pine Siskin
Carduelis pinus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Prothonotary Warbler
Protonotaria citrea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Purple Finch
Carpodacus purpureus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Melanerpes carolinus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta canadensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-headed Woodpecker
Melanerpes erythrocephalus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ring-necked Duck
Aythya collaris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Regulus calendula
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Rusty Blackbird
Euphagus carolinus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivacea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Accipiter striatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Song Sparrow
Melospiza melodia
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Spotted Sandpiper
Actitis macularius
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Swainson's Warbler
Limnothlypis swainsonii
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Swamp Sparrow
Melospiza georgiana
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Tree Swallow
Tachycineta bicolor
Birds. 1 shared habitat

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

—CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Polygonaceae
Flower color: Yellow or green
Fruit begins: August
Fruit ends: September

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 · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Yellow or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Fruit begins · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Fruit ends · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Also known as

Ladies Eardrops

Conservation status

Virginia rank	SNA
Global rank	Not available
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

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