Woolly Hedge-nettle, Lamb's-ear

Stachys byzantina

Found in roadsides, lawns, doubtfully established from horticultural use. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 18%

Light: Up to 6 hours of direct sun

No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…

At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · 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 3 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

10CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Stachys

Clepsis peritanaGarden Tortrix
Endothenia hebesanaVerbena Bud Moth
Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
Ogdoconta cinereolaCommon Pinkband Groundling
Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
Endothenia montanana
Endothenia nubilana
Pelochrista womonana

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Stachys

Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
Spinus tristisAmerican Goldfinch

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Family not recorded

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

Conservation status

Virginia rank	SNA
Global rank	Not available
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

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