Soybean
Glycine max
Found in abundantly cultivated as a crop, rarely persisting as a waif. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 1–2 feet
- Spread
- 9 inches–2 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to average
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- July to October
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 15 Virginia counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
45CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Glycine
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Allagrapha aereaUnspotted Looper Moth
- Allotria elonymphaFalse Underwing
- Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
- Anarta trifoliiThe Nutmeg, Clover Cutworm
- Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
- Anticarsia gemmatalisVelvetbean Caterpillar Moth
- Autographa precationisCommon Looper Moth
- Caenurgina erechteaClover Looper Moth, Common Grass Moth, Forage Looper
- Cecropterus bathyllusSouthern Cloudywing
Show all 45
- Chloridea subflexaSubflexus Straw, Groundcherry Sun Moth
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
- Ctenoplusia oxygrammaSharp-Stigma Looper Moth
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
- Euxoa detersaRubbed Dart, Sandhill Cutworm
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Iridopsis humariaSmall Purplish Gray
- Iridopsis larvariaBent-Line Gray
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Nomophila nearcticaLucerne Moth, American Celery Webworm
- Phoebis sennaeCloudless Sulphur
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Pyrisitia lisaLittle Yellow, Little Sulphur, Lisa Yellow
- Rachiplusia ouGray Looper
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
- Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
- Syngrapha rectangulaSalt-and-Pepper Looper Moth
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
- Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
- Utetheisa ornatrixOrnate Moth, Pink Underwing, Rattlebox Moth, Bella Moth
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
6BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Glycine
- Aix sponsaWood Duck
- Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
- Branta canadensisCanada Goose
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Phasianus colchicusRing-necked Pheasant
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- Purple
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Single crown
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Purple” · 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 · “Summer” · 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 · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “purple” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “9 inches–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Soy Bean; Soya Bean; Soyabean
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- 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