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Dune Marsh-elder

Iva imbricata

Found in dunes, upper beach, island-end flats. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

33
Good

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

Profile 71%

Height
Up to about 3 feet
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
August to November

Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Soil · Leaves

Recorded in 5 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

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Iva

  • Schinia gracilentaIva Flower Moth, Slender Flower Moth
  • Bucculatrix ivella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
3BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Iva

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
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
  • Peucaea aestivalisBachman's Sparrow
  • Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
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
Asteraceae
Flower color
White
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Dune Marsh elder

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankG5?
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources