Eastern Goat's-beard
Aruncus dioicus
36
Good
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- 3–6 feet
- Spread
- 2–4 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 3 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 11 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
Not yet recorded · Bloom
Recorded in 24 West Virginia counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Aruncus
- Celastrina nigraDusky Azure
- Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
- Paralobesia palliolanaSpruce Mlcromoth
15BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Aruncus
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 claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–7b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Cream or white
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Cream or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–7b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- primary_flower_color · “white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “2–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Eastern Goat's beard; Goats Beard
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
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.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- West Virginia occurrence source
- 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