Virginia Plantain
Plantago virginica
Found in saline marshes, thin soils over rock, roadsides, lawns, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
70
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 3 inches–1 foot
- Spread
- 3 inches–1 foot
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual or biennial
- Bloom
- Spring and summer
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 96 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
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Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
62CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Plantago
- Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Apantesis annaAnna Tiger Moth
- Apantesis argeArge Tiger Moth
- Apantesis figurataFigured Tiger Moth
- Apantesis naisNais Tiger Moth
- Apantesis partheniceParthenice Tiger Moth
- Apantesis phalerataHarnessed Moth
- Apantesis virgoVirgin Tiger Moth
- Apantesis virgunculaLittle Tiger Moth
Show all 62
- Apantesis vittataBanded Tiger Moth
- Autographa precationisCommon Looper Moth
- Chlosyne nycteisSilvery Checkerspot
- Dypterygia rozmaniAmerican Bird's-Wing
- Dysstroma truncataMarbled Carpet
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Euphydryas phaetonThe Baltimore, The Black Checker
- Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Hyppa xylinoidesCommon Hyppa
- Junonia coeniaCommon Buckeye
- Lacinipolia olivaceaOlive Arches, Olive Groundcat
- Lacinipolia renigeraBristly Ground Cat, Bristly Cutworm Moth, Kidney Spotted "Mamestra"
- Lithophane bethuneiBethune's Pinion
- Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
- Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Neodactria caliginosellusCorn Webworm, Corn Root Webworm, Sooty Crambus
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthodes cynicaCynical Quaker, Cynical Groundcat
- Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
- Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
- Phyciodes tharosPearl Crescent, Crescentspot
- Pseudorthodes vecorsSmall Brown Quaker, Small Brown Groundcat
- Pyrausta subsequalisMottled Pyrausta
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Spaelotis clandestinaClandestine Dart, W-Marked Cutworm
- Spilosoma congruaAgreeable Tiger Moth
- Spilosoma dubiaDubious Tiger Moth
- Spilosoma latipennisPink-Legged Tiger Moth
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spiramater lutraDarling Mamestra, Splashed Arches, Otter Spiramater, Otter Arches
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Tricholita signataSignate Quaker, Signate Groundcat
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Trichopolia oviducaRuddy Quaker
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Virbia aurantiacaOrange Virbia, Orange Holomelina
- Virbia laetaJoyful Virbia, Joyful Holomelina
- Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
- Xestia normanianusNorman's Dart
- Herpetogramma aquilonalis
5BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Plantago
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
9BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Plantago
- Alectoris chukarChukar
- Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
- Branta canadensisCanada Goose
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
- Spizella breweriBrewer's Sparrow
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
- Plantaginaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–9b
- Flower color
- Green or white
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Spring and summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition differs)
- Flower color · “Green or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3 inches–1 foot” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs)
- Life cycle · “Annual or biennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs)
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “3 inches–1 foot” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| 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)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition
- 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