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Eastern Sampson's-snakeroot

Orbexilum psoralioides

Also listed as Orbexilum pedunculatum var. gracile, Orbexilum pedunculatum var. psoralioides

Found in longleaf pine savannas, loamy longleaf pine sandhills, open woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

35
Good

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

Profile 59%

Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Bloom
May to July
Fruiting season
July to September

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Height: NC species account not read yet.

Spread, life cycle and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 26 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

Pine savannas

Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype
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.

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

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 · Orbexilum

  • Cyclophora myrtariaWaxmyrtle Wave
  • Cyclophora pendulinariaSweetfern Geometer
  • Schinia jaguarinaJaguar Flower Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
2BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Orbexilum

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
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Psoralea

  • Perdix perdixGray Partridge
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Fabaceae
Fruit begins
July
Fruit ends
September

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Eastern Sampson's snakeroot; Orbexilum pedunculatum var. gracile; Orbexilum pedunculatum var. psoralioides; Psoralea psoralioides var. psoralioides

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources