Floating Water Primrose

Ludwigia peploides var. glabrescens

Also listed as Ludwigia peploides subsp. glabrescens

Found in pools, ditches, disturbed places. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

-85

Severe harm

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 53%

Light: Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Moist to standing water

No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…

Do not plant. Listed invasive in Virginia.

At a glance

Bloom: May to October

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Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 15 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Ludwigia

Elophila gyralisWaterlily Borer Moth
Eudryas unioPearly Wood-Nymph
Junonia coeniaCommon Buckeye
Nematocampa resistariaFilament Bearer, Horned Spanworm Moth
Parapoynx seminealisFloating-Heart Waterlilly Moth, Waterlily Casebearer

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

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

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

Aix sponsaWood Duck
Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
Porzana carolinaSora

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Onagraceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “May to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Moist; Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Ludwigia peploides subsp. glabrescens

Conservation status

Virginia rank	SNA
Global rank	Not available
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source

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