Thicket Bean
Phaseolus polystachios
Found in thickets, woodlands, seemingly declining. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
70
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- About 8 feet in flower
- Light
- Full sun, Part shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to average
At a glance
- Bloom
- July to October
- Fruiting season
- August to October
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 46 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Habitats
Forest edges and thickets; forests and woodlands.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
64CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Phaseolus
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Agrotis vetustaOld Man Dart
- Agrotis volubilisVoluble Dart
- Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
- Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
- Anarta trifoliiThe Nutmeg, Clover Cutworm
- Anomis flavaTropical Anomis Moth
Show all 64
- Anticarsia gemmatalisVelvetbean Caterpillar Moth
- Apamea devastatorGlassy Borer, Glassy Cutworm Moth
- Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
- Autographa precationisCommon Looper Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Cecropterus bathyllusSouthern Cloudywing
- Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
- Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
- Dasylophia thyatiroidesGray-Patched Prominent
- Dysodia oculatanaEyed Thyris
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
- Euxoa detersaRubbed Dart, Sandhill Cutworm
- Euxoa messoriaReaper Dart, Darksided Cutworm, Dark-Sided Cutworm
- Euxoa tessellataTessellate Dart, Striped Cutworm
- Feltia herilisMaster's Dart
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Feltia subgothicaSubgothic Dart
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Monoptilota pergratialisLima Bean Vine Borer
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Ogdoconta cinereolaCommon Pinkband Groundling
- Palthis asopialisFaint-Spotted Palthis
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Pyrrhia exprimensPurple-Lined Sallow, Purple-Lined Sun Moth
- Rachiplusia ouGray Looper
- Spaelotis clandestinaClandestine Dart, W-Marked Cutworm
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Telegonus cellusGolden Banded-Skipper , Golden-Banded Skipper
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Trichordestra legitimaStriped Garden Caterpillar Moth
- Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
- Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Xylophanes tersaTersa Sphinx
- Porphyrosela desmodiella
7BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Phaseolus
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
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Phaseolus
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Perdix perdixGray Partridge
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
- Flower color
- Pink
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Fruit begins · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “About 8 feet in flower” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Light · “Full sun (6+ hours); Part shade (3–6 hours)” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- primary_flower_color · “pink” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide
- Soil · “Mesic; Dry-mesic” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
Also known as
Bean Vine; Wild Bean
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- 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