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Sourwood

Oxydendrum arboreum

Found in moist to dry deciduous forests, especially moderately dry to dry oak-hickory and oak-pine forests, and also often in sandhill/pocosin ecotones. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

64
Strong

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

Profile 100%

Height
20–30 feet
Spread
10–15 feet
Light
Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 12.5 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
Summer
Fruiting season
September to October

Recorded in 86 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.

Forests and woodlands

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

Sandhills

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

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 134 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Care

  • Move plants only while young.
Care sources
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

16CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Oxydendrum

  • Acronicta impletaYellow-Haired Dagger
  • Amorbia humerosanaWhite-Lined Leafroller Moth
  • Cecrita biundataWavy-Lined Heterocampa
  • Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure
  • Citheronia regalisRoyal Walnut Moth, Hickory Horned Devil
  • Datana drexeliiDrexel's Datana
  • Datana ministraYellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
  • Deidamia inscriptumLettered Sphinx
  • Dichomeris ligulellaPalmerworm
  • Egira alternansAlternate Woodling
Show all 16
  • Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
  • Lithophane unimodaDowdy Pinion
  • Lophocampa maculataSpotted Tussock Moth, Yellow-Spotted Tiger Moth
  • Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
  • Pangrapta decoralisDecorated Owlet
  • Xystopeplus rufagoRed-Winged Sallow
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
7BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Oxydendrum

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
—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 5a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Cream or white
Growth rate
Slow
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 · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), USDA PLANTS differ)
  • Flower color · “Cream 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; NC Extension Plant Toolbox, USDA PLANTS differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox, USDA PLANTS differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Growth habit · “Single stem” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Slow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 5a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “20–30 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
  • Leaves · “Deciduous” · 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); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
  • primary_flower_color · “white” · USDA PLANTS
  • Soil · “Good drainage; Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
  • Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Spread · “10–15 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources