Virginia Native Plant Society

Virginia Native Plant Society Conserving wildflowers and wild places. To learn about Virginia's native plants, or to find a chapter, visit vnps.org
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The Virginia Native Plant Society, comprised of state board and local chapters, work with both public and private institutions and individuals to support their mission. Training, field trips, scholarships, native plants sales, restoration projects and a website contribute to the public outreach and plant preservation. The Society's members are experts, beginners, and everything in between, all sha

ring an interest in learning more Virginia's plant communities, and in working to preserve and enjoy them.

We’re celebrating 10k Instagram followers by relaunching all 5 years of Wildflower of the Year shirts on our online Bonf...
08/24/2026

We’re celebrating 10k Instagram followers by relaunching all 5 years of Wildflower of the Year shirts on our online Bonfire store for a limited time! Snag your favorite plants while you can!

https://www.bonfire.com/store/vnps/

Canada Burnet, Sanguisorba canadensis, is flowering now. Its principal habitat is fens, but can also be found in seeps a...
08/21/2026

Canada Burnet, Sanguisorba canadensis, is flowering now. Its principal habitat is fens, but can also be found in seeps and seepage swamps. In Virginia it can only be found in four counties across primarily the Blue Ridge Mountains.

📸 Maeve Coker, VNPS Education Chair

Swamp Rose-mallow season is starting to peak! Formerly Hibiscus moscheutos, our beloved wetland plant has now been recla...
07/27/2026

Swamp Rose-mallow season is starting to peak! Formerly Hibiscus moscheutos, our beloved wetland plant has now been reclassified as Muenchhusia moscheutos! While the typical flowers are white with a magenta center, sometimes this species can naturally exhibit other color forms, like the fully magenta flowers, or occasionally a pale pink with the magenta center. Each flower lasts only a day, with peak showtime before mid-day.

Occurring nearly state wide, Swamp Rose Mallow occupies a variety of wetland types. Not only will it grow in disturbed wetlands like ditches and impoundments, but it grows in abundance in tidal fresh and oligohaline marshes, river shores/bars, alluvial swamps, floodplain pools, and more, as long as it has plenty of sun.

Swamp Rose Mallow hosts a specialist bee called the Hibiscus Turret Bee. Although they superficially resemble bumble bees, the turret bees are much different in their life history. They nest solitarily in the ground, although they can form huge aggregations. They also are not generalists, and rely solely on the pollen of the hibsicus flowers in order to nourish their larvae. When they aren't inside the flowers or their nests, they can sometimes be seen at the water's edge, or even floating on the water, collecting the water to soften the ground for their nest excavation. Next time you look at a Hibiscus flower, peek inside for a turret bee! 🐝🌺

📸 Maeve Coker, VNPS Education Chair

In a public park south of Petersburg there is a seasonally wet acidic grassland surrounded by oak-heath woodland. This s...
07/11/2026

In a public park south of Petersburg there is a seasonally wet acidic grassland surrounded by oak-heath woodland. This small site is one of two known current locations for Eaton’s lady’s tresses (Spiranthes eatonii), but had not been seen in several years. After some recent mowing, several dozen of these delicate flower spikes appeared.

Eaton’s Ladies’-tresses (Spiranthes eatonii) is one of 12 species in the genus Spiranthes that are native to Virginia. Half of the species are considered rare, including this one, which is listed S1, which indicates Critically Imperiled; At very high risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to very restricted range, very few populations or occurrences, very steep declines, severe threats, or other factors.

📸 Scott Cave,
Map -

Happy Independence Day from the Lobelias! A genus with over 400 species globally, in Virginia we are lucky to have 10 sp...
07/04/2026

Happy Independence Day from the Lobelias! A genus with over 400 species globally, in Virginia we are lucky to have 10 species that display a wide range of colors, including our patriot Red, White, and Blue! They occupy a wide range of habitats, from shady, rich wetlands, to sunny and dry grasslands.

While you celebrate the 250th anniversary today, remember our lovely Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Indian To***co (Lobelia inflata), and Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)!

📸 Maeve Coker, VNPS Education Chair

Creeping Eryngo, Eryngium prostratum, is a tiny plant that easily is overlooked unless it's blooming. With pale bluish-l...
06/30/2026

Creeping Eryngo, Eryngium prostratum, is a tiny plant that easily is overlooked unless it's blooming. With pale bluish-lavender flowers that barely reach the size of a dime, and foliage that creeps across the ground, it's no wonder it can disappear into surrounding vegetation.

This species reaches its northern limits in the southern half of Virginia, where it is infrequent in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont. It prefers wet, seasonally exposed soils of ditches, pond margins, wet fields, and gravel bars.

📸 Maeve Coker, VNPS Education Chair

Bog cheetos! More formally known as orange milkwort (Polygala lutea), this native wildflower grows in wet, boggy areas i...
06/27/2026

Bog cheetos! More formally known as orange milkwort (Polygala lutea), this native wildflower grows in wet, boggy areas in the Coastal Plain from New York down to Louisiana. It’s easy to see where it gets its nickname: these bright orange flower clusters grow longer and more like cheese puffs as the season goes on. It grows in abundance where there’s open sand or peat.

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Map App ❤️

It's National Pollinator Week! Although we appreciate pollinators at all times of year, this week they get a special spo...
06/24/2026

It's National Pollinator Week! Although we appreciate pollinators at all times of year, this week they get a special spotlight on our page. A high diversity of pollinators contributes to the perpetuation of the high diversity of plant species across the state. We have bees, wasps, flies, beetles, butterflies, moths, and even birds to thank for the ecosystem services they provide every day. Next time you enjoy the flowers blooming, take a closer look at what's visiting!

📸 Maeve Coker, VNPS Education Chair

During the summer, look for this plant, American Water Willow, (Justicia americana), in shallow riffles of large streams...
06/19/2026

During the summer, look for this plant, American Water Willow, (Justicia americana), in shallow riffles of large streams and rivers; it occurs in nearly every Virginian county. This aquatic plant sports bicolored flowers in dense, spiky clusters on long slender stalks from leat axils; check out the prominent bee guidelines in the flower center - no surprise that many bees and buttertlies love this one. Flowering occurs on and off most of the summer. Often found in large colonies; it spreads from rhizomes and stolons.
Research has shown it to be an important provider of shallow-water refuge for young fresh-water fishes.
Despite its common name it is not a woody plant and not closely related to the willows (Salix); it reaches only three feet at its maximum height. describes its habitat in our state: “Intermittently exposed river shores and stream beds, usually in the open. In the mountains and Piedmont, it is characteristic of cobbly or bouldery shallows along major streams; in the Coastal Plain, it occupies sandy shores and intertidal flats. Locally frequent to common throughout.”

📸 Ashley Moulton, VNPS Publicity Chair

Address

400 Blandy Farm Lane, Unit 2
Boyce, VA
22620

Telephone

540-837-1600

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