Yellow Floating-heart

Nymphoides peltata

Found in ponds. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

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

Profile 76%

Height: 4–6 inches
Spread: 1–3 feet
Light: Full sun
Soil moisture: Wet to standing water

See native alternatives

Nymphoides peltata — flower photograph — (c) Clay Gibbons, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

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At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Leaves: Deciduous
Bloom: May to September

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Recorded in 3 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal pond margins, Florida and Louisiana to North Carolina; state not identified, a neighboring state.Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. 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 · Nymphoides

Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
Parapoynx allionealisWatermilfoil Leafcutter, Bladderwort Casemaker
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

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Menyanthaceae
Hardiness: Zones 5a–10b
Flower color: Yellow

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

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “May to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Hardiness · “Zones 5a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Height · “4–6 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
primary_flower_color · “yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Soil · “Frequent standing water” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Spread · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Also known as

Yellow Floating Heart; Yellow Floatingheart

Conservation status

Virginia rank	Not available
Global rank	G5
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source