Southern Maleberry
Lyonia ligustrina var. foliosiflora
Found in pocosins, seepage bogs, bayhead margins (often near cutthroat grass or wet flatwood ecotones [c. FL], and other wet habitats. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 53%
- Light
- Up to 6 hours of direct sun
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 7 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Habitats
Pocosins and bay forests; Coastal Plain seepage bogs.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Who uses this plant?
14CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Lyonia
- Argyrostrotis quadrifilarisFour-Lined Chocolate, Hickory Leafroller
- Argyrostrotis sylvarumWoodland Chocolate
- Catocala andromedaeAndromeda Underwing
- Cecrita biundataWavy-Lined Heterocampa
- Datana majorMajor Datana, Azalea Caterpillar
- Datana ministraYellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
- Datana ranaecepsPost-Burn Datana
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Nola pustulataSharp-Blotched Nola
- Pangrapta decoralisDecorated Owlet
Show all 14
- Paonias astylusHuckleberry Sphinx
- Sphinx gordiusApple Sphinx
- Tallula watsoniWatson's Tallula
- Xestia elimataSouthern Variable Dart, Southern Pine Dart
19BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Lyonia
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
4Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Lyonia
- Andrena kalmiae
- Colletes productus
- Melitta melittoides
- Perdita novaeangliae
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- ERICACEAE
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T5? |
| 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
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: South Central (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Florida (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