Slender Rattlesnake-root

Nabalus autumnalis

Found in pocosins, pine savannas, forest edges. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

Good

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

Profile 94%

Height: Up to about 4 feet
Light: Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to wet

Nabalus autumnalis — whole photograph — (c) Judy Gallagher, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original photograph

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: September to November

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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.

1 of 3

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.

Sandy pine savanna. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Nabalus

Argyrotaenia marianaGray-Banded Leafroller Moth
Eupithecia fletcherataFletcher's Eupithecia
Paralobesia rhoifructana

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

9BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Nabalus

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

1Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Nabalus

Colletes compactus

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: Asteraceae
Flower color: White or pink

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “September to November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “White or pink” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “Up to about 4 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Prenanthes autumnalis; Slender Rattlesnake root

Conservation status

Virginia rank	S1
Global rank	G4G5
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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