States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaFloridaVirginia
Menu

Shining Fetterbush

Lyonia lucida

Found in pocosins and bay forests; swamps; pine flatwoods. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

73
Strong

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

Profile 100%

Height
3–6 feet
Spread
3–6 feet
Light
Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 4.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 5 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Evergreen
Bloom
Spring
Fruiting season
September to October

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.

1 of 3

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense low pocosin
Dense low pocosin. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Dense low pocosin, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Pine flatwoods

Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer
Wet pine flatwoods with a shrub layer. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. 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. 187 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
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
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Ericaceae
Hardiness
Zones 7a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Pink, red or white
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Single stem
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
September
Fruit ends
October

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Flower color · “Pink, red or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Growth habit · “Single stem” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 7a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “3–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
  • Leaves · “Evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differs)
  • Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differs)
  • Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Spread · “3–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Conservation status

Virginia rankS3S4
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Sources