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Carolina Fanwort

Cabomba caroliniana

Found in millponds, lakes, slow-moving streams. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

15
Modest

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

Profile 94%

Height
3 inches
Spread
1–3 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Wet to standing water

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?

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
May to September
Fruiting season
Spring to fall

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 9 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

1 of 2

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal pond margins, Florida and Louisiana to North Carolina; state not identified, a neighboring state.Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

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.
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Cabomba

  • Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
Cabombaceae
Hardiness
Zones 6–10
Flower color
White
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Several stems
Foliage color
Gray-green
Fruit begins
Spring
Fruit ends
Fall
Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “May to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “White” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Foliage color · “Gray-green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 6–10” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
  • Height · “3 inches” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • primary_flower_color · “white” · USDA PLANTS
  • Soil · “Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Spread · “1–3 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Also known as

Fanwort

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1S2
Global rankG3G5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources