Plant · GBIF taxon 5414935
White Turtlehead
Chelone glabraAlso known as Balmony, Bitter Herb, Shellflower, Turtlehead
White turtlehead crowns eastern North American wetlands with dense spikes of snapdragon-like white flowers from late summer into autumn. Strong bumblebees are among the few pollinators large enough to pry open the tightly overlapping petals to reach nectar hidden deep inside. The plant serves as the primary larval host for the striking Baltimore checkerspot butterfly, making its damp stream-margin habitats vital for local insect diversity.
WetlandNative WildflowerHost Plant
1 / 7—observations
—countries
—peak records
Least ConcernConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXLeast ConcernRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Photosynthetic
Predators
- White-tailed Deer
- Baltimore Checkerspot Caterpillars
ThreatsWetland drainage, invasive species competition, deer browsing
HabitatsSwamps, stream banks, wet meadows, riparian forests
Life spanPerennial
Classification
- FamilyPlantaginaceae
- SpeciesChelone glabra
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe at a normal distance.
Responsible observation
- Habitat Search: Look along sunny stream banks, damp ditches, and marsh edges late in summer.
- Pollinator Watching: Observe strong bumblebees muscle into the snapped-shut blooms.
- Caterpillar Checks: Inspect undersides of leaves for dark Baltimore checkerspot larvae.
Host Plant no rights reserved · cc0
Pollinator USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA / Public domain · cc0
Close Relative Emőke Dénes / CC BY-SA 4.0 · cc-by-sa
Close Relative (c) Alan Rockefeller, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by
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