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Wafer Ash; Hop Tree

Ptelea trifoliata var. trifoliata

Found in rocky hillsides, glades, and barrens, especially over calcareous or mafic rocks, prairies, prairie woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

37
Good

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

Profile 35%

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

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

Recorded in 40 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 4

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County
Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Mason Brock (Masebrock), undated. Public domain. Source record.

Prairies and grasslands

Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020
Barrens grassland after a prescribed fire. Shown: Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020, NPS Photo / Rick Olson, September 2020. Public domain. Source record.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock

Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.

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

4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Ptelea

  • Papilio glaucusEastern Tiger Swallowtail
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Papilio cresphontesEastern Giant Swallowtail
  • Agonopterix costimacula
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
1BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Ptelea

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
RUTACEAE

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

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4?
Global rankG5T5
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