Swamp Fetterbush
Eubotrys racemosus
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- About 13 feet
- Light
- Partial sun, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moderate
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- Early spring
- Fruiting season
- Fall
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle
Recorded in 58 Virginia counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 154 animals.
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Eubotrys
- Callophrys henriciHenry's Elfin
- Catocala gracilisGraceful Underwing
- Datana majorMajor Datana, Azalea Caterpillar
- Datana ranaecepsPost-Burn Datana
- Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
1BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Eubotrys
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 4.0No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Flower color
- White
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Several stems
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Fall
- Fruit ends
- Fall
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Early spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “White” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Fall” · 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 · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 13 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Leaf retention · “Deciduous” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Light · “Partial sun (minimum requirement); Full sun (minimum requirement)” · Virginia DCR Coastal Plain · Virginia regional planting chart; sunlight is a minimum requirement, moisture is low/moderate/high
- primary_flower_color · “white” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Moderate” · Virginia DCR Coastal Plain · Virginia regional planting chart; sunlight is a minimum requirement, moisture is low/moderate/high
Also known as
Coastal Fetterbush; Leucothoe racemosa; Swamp Dog Hobble; doghobble
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- 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

























