Crested Coralroot
Hexalectris spicata
Found in dry forests and woodlands; forests and woodlands. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- Up to about 2.5 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- April to August
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 41 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 116 animals.
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
Who uses this plant?
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Orchidaceae
- Flower color
- White, yellow or purple
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White, yellow or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 2.5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S3 |
|---|---|
| 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
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- 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

























