States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaFloridaVirginia
Menu

Chapman's Redtop

Tridens chapmanii

Found in sandhills; forests and woodlands; prairies and grasslands; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground; maritime forests and thickets; Coastal dunes and beaches. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

32
Good

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

Profile 88%

Height
Up to about 6 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
August to October

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 6 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 6

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.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Core Banks dunes, June 2013
Dune grassland. Shown: Core Banks, Cape Lookout, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Core Banks dunes, June 2013, Jarek Tuszyński, June 2013. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source record.

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 92 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

10CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Tridens

  • Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
  • Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
  • Heliocheilus lupatusLupatus Straw Moth, Purple-Top Sun Moth
  • Heliocheilus paradoxusParadoxical Grass Moth
  • Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
  • Lerema acciusClouded Skipper, Corn Leaf tier
  • Limochores origenesCrossline Skipper
  • Lon hobomokHobomok Skipper
  • Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
  • Vernia vernaLittle Glassywing
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
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
Poaceae
Flower color
Green, purple or brown
Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “August to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Green, purple or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Height · “Up to about 6 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as

Chapmans Purpletop; Chapmans Tridens; Tridens flavus var. chapmanii

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankG5T3 [G3]
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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.

How to check your spot

Sources