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Plant profile · Austin & Hill Country

Virginia Snakeroot

Aristolochia serpentaria
native · Hill Country

Virginia Snakeroot is a perennial wildflower native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 1–2 ft tall and 0.5 ft wide. It wants shade and medium water, and handles clay soil. Blooms yellow and purple in Apr–Jun. Good for butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

4 sources
Type
Perennial wildflower
Sun
Shade (0–2 hrs of direct sun)
Water
Medium
Height
1–2 ft
Spread
0.5 ft
Bloom
Apr–Jun · yellow, purple
Foliage
Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil
Takes clay · recorded on calcareous, clay, loam, moist, rich, sand, well drained
Wildlife
Supports butterflies

Where it grows

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

Balcones CanyonlandsEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieFloodplains and Low Terraces

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.