Sweet Indian-plantain
Hasteola suaveolens
Found in sandy bottomlands, low rich forests, and riverbanks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 3–5 feet
- Spread
- 1.5–2.5 feet
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Soil moisture
- Average to wet
Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
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
- July to October
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 2 West Virginia counties.
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.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 82 animals.
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Bewick's WrenThryomanes bewickii
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Cerulean WarblerDendroica cerulea
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
- Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopus
Widespread birds also seen here (45)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- Alder Flycatcher
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-billed Cuckoo
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Towhee
- European Starling
- Gray Catbird
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Least Flycatcher
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Olive-sided Flycatcher
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- Veery
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5–8
- Flower color
- White
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Hardiness · “Zones 5–8” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- Height · “3–5 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Full sun to part shade” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide
- Soil · “Medium to wet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Spread · “1.5–2.5 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Also known as
Cacalia suaveolens; False Indian Plaintain; Sweet Indian plantain
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S2 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- 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

























