Camphor Pluchea
Pluchea camphorata
Found in bottomland sloughs, clay flatwoods, other freshwater wetlands, also weedy in upland areas, particularly in sunny areas and following disturbance. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to West Virginia (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 6 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to standing water
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- August to October
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
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.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Who uses this plant?
3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Pluchea
- Adaina ambrosiaeAmbrosia Plume Moth, Ragweed Plume Moth
- Dichomeris setosellaHairy Dichomeris
- Schinia arcigeraArcigera Flower Moth
26BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Pluchea
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
9Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Pluchea
- Andrena asteris
- Andrena hirticincta
- Colletes americanus
- Colletes compactus
- Colletes simulans
- Colletes speculiferus
- Dieunomia heteropoda
- Megachile xylocopoides
- Perdita octomaculata
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Flower color
- Pink or purple
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “August to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 6 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Moist; Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Camphor Weed
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | SX |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| 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
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition
- 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