Spreading Dogbane is an herbaceous perennial wildflower that is widespread across North America and is found in the mountains of NC in a forest, woodland, forest edge, prairie, meadow or field site. There are numerous small pink, nodding, bell-shaped flowers that are fragrant and striped inside with deeper pink. It grows 2-3 feet tall as a bushy shrub or perennial and spreads quickly from underground rhizomes making it inappropriate for small gardens. This plant prefers average to dry conditions in barren sandy to rocky soils but tolerates loams in sunny to shady conditions. It was once thought to be a monarch butterfly host plant but larvae deposited there do not survive. However, the nectar is a good food source for pollinators. Numerous small pink, nodding, bell-like flowers appear in clusters during the summer. Native bees nest in the dead, hollow stems, so gardeners are encouraged to cut back dead stems to 12 to 24 inches and allow them to remain standing until they disintegrate on their own. Read more about best practices for stem-nesting bees in this NC Extension publication Plant in a woodland or pollinator garden or naturalized areas.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Multi-stemmed; Spreading
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Lanceolate; Oblong; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Simple, oval, opposite leaves 1 1/2"-4" long 1/2"-2" wide, entire margins. Undersides are paler and may have hairs. Acute apex and a rounded base. Yellow fall color.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow
Flower color
Pink; White
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower form
Cyme
Flower shape
Bell
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Numerous small pink, nodding, bell-like flowers, fragrant and striped inside with deeper pink on terminal cymes. June to Aug.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit type
Follicle
Fruit size
> 3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Fruit detail
Follicles are 3-6" long and narrowly cylindrical. They split open at maturity to release small seeds with tufts of hair that are dispersed by the wind.
Stem color
Green; Red/Burgundy
Stem detail
The stems are light green to red, glabrous, and terete containing milky sap.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
North America
Distribution
AK , AL , AR , AZ , CA , CO , CT , DC , DE , GA , IA , ID , IL , IN , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , MT , NC , ND , NE , NH , NJ , NM , NV , NY , OH , OK , OR , PA , RI , SD , TN , TX , UT , VA , VT , WA , WI , WV , WY Canada: AB , BC , MB , NB , NL , NS , ON , PE , QC , SK
Wildlife value
Attracts pollinators. Dead stems are used by stem-nesting bees.
Attracts
Pollinators
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall
Fruit type
Follicle
Uses (ethnobotany)
Fiber from the plant was used by Native Americans as thread