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Smooth False-buttonweed

Spermacoce glabra

Found in moist shores, bottomlands, riverside drawdowns, rocky riversides in the mountains, disturbed areas in the Coastal Plain. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

46
Good

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

Profile 88%

Height
Up to about 2 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to October

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 4 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 2

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 88 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Spermacoce

  • Cyclophora nanariaDwarf Tawny Wave
  • Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
  • Xylophanes tersaTersa Sphinx
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
25BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Spermacoce

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
Rubiaceae
Flower color
White
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Smooth False Buttonweed

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankG4G5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

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How to check your spot

Sources