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Prairie Red Root

Ceanothus herbaceus

Found in prairies, glades, upland woodlands, eastwards in flood-scoured rocky and/or sandy riverbanks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

93
Keystone

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

Profile 71%

Height
2–3 feet
Spread
1–2 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to average

Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial

Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

County records are not available.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 3

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.

Forests and woodlands

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

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 59 animals.

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

44CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Ceanothus

  • Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
  • Ancylis semiovanaHalf-Oval Ancylis
  • Apodrepanulatrix liberariaBarrens Carpet
  • Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
  • Biston betulariaSalt-and-Pepper Geometer, Cleft-Headed Looper
  • Calycopis cecropsRed-Banded Hairstreak, Cecrops Hairstreak
  • Celastrina luciaLucia Azure
  • Celastrina serotinaCherry Gall Azure
  • Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
  • Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
Show all 44
  • Clepsis persicanaWhite Triangle Tortrix
  • Coelodasys unicornisUnicorn Caterpillar Moth
  • Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
  • Erastria colorariaBroad-Lined Erastria
  • Erastria cruentariaThin-Lined Erastria
  • Euchlaena marginariaOchre Euchlaena
  • Eupithecia columbiataColumbia Pug
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Eutrapela clematariaCurved-Tooth Geometer, Purplish Brown Looper
  • Gesta martialisMottled Duskywing
  • Haploa leconteiLeconte's Haploa
  • Harrisimemna trisignataHarris's Three-Spot
  • Hesperumia sulphurariaSulphur Moth
  • Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
  • Hypena bijugalisDimorphic Bomolocha, Dimorphic Snout
  • Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
  • Lyonetia prunifoliellaStriped Bent-wing
  • Malacosoma americanaEastern Tent Caterpillar
  • Nematocampa resistariaFilament Bearer, Horned Spanworm Moth
  • Nemoria rubrifrontariaRed-Fronted Emerald
  • Oedemasia concinnaRed-Humped Caterpillar, Red-Humped Appleworm
  • Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
  • Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
  • Phyllodesma americanaLappet Moth, American Lappet Moth, Southern Lappet Moth
  • Platynota idaeusalisTufted Apple-Bud Moth
  • Redectis vitreaWhite-Spotted Redactis
  • Schizura ipomaeaeMorning-Glory Prominent, Checkered-Fringe Prominent
  • Sicya maculariaSharp-Lined Yellow
  • Spiramater lutraDarling Mamestra, Splashed Arches, Otter Spiramater, Otter Arches
  • Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
  • Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
  • Xanthotype sospetaCrocus Geometer
  • Zale minereaColorful Zale
  • Lithacodes fiskeanus
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
46BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Ceanothus

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
1Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Ceanothus

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

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

  • Coccothraustes vespertinusEvening Grosbeak
  • Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Rhamnaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4–8

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Prairie Ceanothus

Conservation status

West Virginia rankSH
Global rankNot available
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

In your garden

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Sources