Virginia Spiraea
Spiraea virginiana
Found in riverbanks, riverside shrub thickets, where occasionally flood-scoured. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
71
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 1 foot 4 inches–8 feet 2 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
Federally threatened. Excluded from routine garden suggestions. Consult conservation guidance before obtaining or planting this species. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- June to July
- Fruiting season
- August to September
JFMAMJJASOND
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
Streams, rivers and their banks
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 136 animals.
- Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgiana
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Olive-sided FlycatcherContopus cooperi
- Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopus
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Snowy OwlBubo scandiacus
- SoraPorzana carolina
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
65CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Spiraea
- Acronicta impressaImpressive Dagger, Printed Dagger
- Acronicta noctivagaNight-Wandering Dagger, Burglar Dagger
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
- Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
- Archips purpuranaOmnivorous Leafroller Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Biston betulariaSalt-and-Pepper Geometer, Cleft-Headed Looper
- Cecrita guttivittaMaple Prominent, Saddled Prominent
- Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure
Show all 65
- Cenopis reticulatanaReticulated Fruitworm Moth
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Clepsis melaleucanusBlack-Patched Clepsis, Trillium Tortrix
- Crocigrapha normaniNorman's Quaker
- Euchlaena effectaEffective Euchlaena
- Euchlaena irrariaLeast-Marked Euchlaena
- Euchlaena johnsonariaJohnson's Euchlaena
- Euchlaena marginariaOchre Euchlaena
- Euchlaena serrataThe Saw-Wing
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Eupithecia misturataInsignificant Pug
- Eupithecia satyrataSatyr Pug
- Eurois occultaGreat Grey Dart, Great Brocade
- Evora hemidesmaSpirea Leaftier
- Glena cognatariaBlueberry Gray
- Harrisimemna trisignataHarris's Three-Spot
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Lacinipolia loreaBridled Arches, Bridle Groundcat
- Lophocampa maculataSpotted Tussock Moth, Yellow-Spotted Tiger Moth
- Lycophotia phyllophoraBrick Dart, Leafy Dart
- Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
- Metarranthis duariaRuddy Metarranthis
- Metarranthis hypochrariaCommon Metarranthis
- Metarranthis obfirmariaYellow-Washed Metarranthis
- Morrisonia evictaBicolored Woodgrain
- Olethreutes permundanaRaspberry Leafroller
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthosia revictaSubdued Quaker
- Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
- Paonias excaecataBlinded Sphinx, Blind Eyed Sphinx
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pero morrisonariaMorrison's Pero
- Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
- Probole amicariaFriendly Probole
- Prochoerodes lineolaLarge Maple Spanworm Moth
- Pseudohermonassa bicarneaPink-Spotted Dart
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Rheumaptera hastataSpear-Marked Black Moth, Spear Mark
- Rheumaptera prunivorataFerguson's Scallop Shell, Cherry Scallop Shell
- Schizura ipomaeaeMorning-Glory Prominent, Checkered-Fringe Prominent
- Sicya maculariaSharp-Lined Yellow
- Smerinthus jamaicensisTwin-Spotted Sphinx
- Sphinx gordiusApple Sphinx
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spiramater lutraDarling Mamestra, Splashed Arches, Otter Spiramater, Otter Arches
- Xanthotype sospetaCrocus Geometer
- Xanthotype urticariaFalse Crocus Geometer
- Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
- Xestia normanianusNorman's Dart
- Xylena nuperaRed Swordgrass Moth, American Swordgrass Moth, False Armyworm
- Acleris macdunnoughi
- Olethreutes albiciliana
- Olethreutes valdanum
6BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Spiraea
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
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Spiraea
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
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
- Rosaceae
- Flower color
- White
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- September
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “1 foot 4 inches–8 feet 2 inches” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Appalachian Meadowsweet; Appalachian Spiraea; Virginia Meadowsweet
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G2? |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Threatened (US Fish and Wildlife Service) |
Conservation source Global rank source Federal status source: US Fish and Wildlife Service
In your garden
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Sources
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- 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), Carolinas & Georgia 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