| Author | (Thunberg) A.L.P.P. de Candolle | |
| Distribution | Confined to the Sandhills and southern Coastal Plain; plus a 2021 photo from Beaufort County on the outer Coastal Plain (Goose Creek SP). First collected in 1957 in Robeson County. It is spreading slowly and will be found in additional counties.
Native of eastern Asia and Oceania; in N.A. NC to FL, TX, AR.
| |
| Abundance | Fairly common to common, notably increasing over the years, and spreading in range. Individual populations may support hundreds of plants, while others just a few. | |
| Habitat | Dry to mesic sandy roadsides, fields, fallow cropfields, granitic flatrocks (Anson Co.), disturbed soils, yard weed. | |
| Phenology | Flowering April-October (rarely earlier or later). | |
| Identification | Southern Rockbell is a slender wisp of a plant that may grow to 1.5 feet, the stems single to many. The leaves are linear. The flowers grow on slender stalks, are 5-8 mm long, pale to medium blue, tubular with lobes generally spreading. Without the flowers, the plants almost disappear and would be easily overlooked. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | | |
| Other Common Name(s) | | |
| State Rank | SE | |
| Global Rank | G4? | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
