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Lesser Clearweed

Pilea fontana

Found in swamp forests, freshwater marshes, tidal marshes, calcareous wetlands, sand bars. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

23
Good

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

Profile 88%

Height
4–20 inches
Light
Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual
Bloom
August to September
Fruiting season
September to November

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 33 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

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 99 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Pilea

  • Cosmopterix pulchrimellaBeautiful Cosmopterix Moth, Chamber's Cosmopterix
  • Heterophleps refusariaThree-Patch Bigwing
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
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
Urticaceae
Flower color
Green
Fruit begins
September
Fruit ends
November

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

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

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How to check your spot

Sources