Bayard's Adder's-mouth
Malaxis bayardii
Found in dry, open, upland forests, shale barrens. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 71%
- Height
- Up to about 10 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- July to September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 9 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Steep, sun-baked slopes of loose shale with sparse oaks and Virginia pine and their own endemic wildflowers. Linked only where the source names shale barrens; calcareous shale stays with the limestone glades.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 130 animals.
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- Evening GrosbeakCoccothraustes vespertinus
Who uses this plant?
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Orchidaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow or green
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 10 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Bayard's Adder's mouth
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SH |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G1G2 |
| 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
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (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

























