Trifoliate Orange
Poncirus trifoliata
Found in bottomland and riparian forests, moist upland forests, stream banks, spring runs, fencerows, roadsides, becoming common especially in suburban areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 8–20 feet
- Spread
- 6–15 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
Do not plant. Listed invasive in West Virginia.
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- March to June
- Fruiting season
- September to October
Recorded in 1 West Virginia county.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
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.
Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
26CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Citrus
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Amphion floridensisNessus Sphinx
- Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
- Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Clepsis peritanaGarden Tortrix
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Euclea delphiniiSpiny Oak-Slug Moth
- Harrisina americanaGrapeleaf Skeletonizer Moth
Show all 26
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
- Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Hypocala andremonaHypocala Moth
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Phobetron pitheciumHag Moth, Monkey Slug
- Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
- Platynota idaeusalisTufted Apple-Bud Moth
- Prolimacodes badiaSkiff Moth, Skiff Caterpillar
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Citrus
- Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
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
Plant details
- Family
- Rutaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- White
- Fruit begins
- September
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “March to June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “8–20 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “6–15 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Poncirus trifoliata
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- West Virginia DNR invasive plant list
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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