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Piratebush

Buckleya distichophylla

Found in dry or rocky bluffs and slopes, usually with pines or hemlock, and most common in scrubby pine-oak/heath woodlands, also rich woods and stream banks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

10
Modest

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

Profile 76%

Height
Up to about 12 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
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

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
April to May
Fruiting season
July to October

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 10 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 4

Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

Sassafras Mountain rock outcrop
Rock outcrop on a mountain summit. Shown: Sassafras Mountain, on the North Carolina and South Carolina line, a neighboring state.Sassafras Mountain rock outcrop, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record. Faithful JPEG display decode of embedded JP2; no AI or color enhancement. Phone derivative resized proportionally.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

Moist forests

Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland
Regional / representative. Shown: Mountains of North and South Carolina; exact site not identified, a neighboring state.Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Forests and woodlands

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

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 134 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

0CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Thesiaceae
Flower color
Green
Fruit begins
July
Fruit ends
October
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Pirate Bush; Sapsuck

Conservation status

Virginia rankS2
Global rankG3
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

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How to check your spot

Sources