Common Buttonbush

Cephalanthus occidentalis

native · Hill Countrycaution

Common Buttonbush is a tree native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 6–12 ft tall and 12 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and high water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms white in summer. Good for birds and butterflies.

Caution — livestock. Foliage contains cephalanthin; livestock poisoning is documented but uncommon.

Wet ground only. A wetland plant: it needs standing water or saturated soil — a pond edge, creek bank or rain garden, not a dry upland bed.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

6 sources

Type: Tree
Sun: Full sun to part shade (4–6 hrs of direct sun)
Water: High
Height: 6–12 ft
Spread: 12 ft
Bloom: Summer · white
Foliage: Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on clay, loam, moist
Deer: Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth
Wildlife: Supports birds and butterflies

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie

2,866 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.