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Pictured: Ageratina aromatica — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Asteraceae family

Lesser Snakeroot (var. aromatica) Ageratina aromatica var. aromatica variety

Native

Lesser Snakeroot (var. aromatica) is a perennial wildflower native to the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Ageratina aromatica, also known as lesser snakeroot and small-leaved white snakeroot, is a North American species of plants in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread and common across much of the eastern and southern United States from Louisiana to Massachusetts, as far inland as Kentucky and Ohio. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 7 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~5 caterpillar species

Ageratina supports ~5 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a modest genus.

Recorded feeding on Ageratina in North America, including:

Calephelis rawsoni · Rawson's Metalmark Dysodia oculatana · Eyed Dysodia Moth Haploa clymene · Clymene Moth Leucospilapteryx venustella · leaf-blotch miner moth Melanchra adjuncta · Hitched Arches Samia cynthia · Ailanthus Silkmoth
+ 2 more species →
Samia walkeri · giant silk moth Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis · Evergreen Bagworm Moth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (11) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[09] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[10] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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