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Largeleaf Pennywort

Hydrocotyle bonariensis

Found in beaches, dunes, and moist sandy areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

45
Good

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

Profile 94%

Height
Up to about 10 inches
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet
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 September

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 3 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Core Banks dunes, June 2013
Dune grassland. Shown: Core Banks, Cape Lookout, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Core Banks dunes, June 2013, Jarek Tuszyński, June 2013. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source record.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 101 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Hydrocotyle

  • Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
  • Enigmogramma basigeraPink-Washed Looper Moth
  • Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
  • Papilio polyxenesBlack Swallowtail, Celery Caterpillar, Fennel Worm, Desert Black Swallowtail, Parsnip Swallowtail
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
2BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Hydrocotyle

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 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Hydrocotyle

  • Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
  • Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
  • Quiscalus majorBoat-tailed Grackle
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Araliaceae
Flower color
White
Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Virginia rankS2
Global rankG5
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