SCIENTIFIC NAME: Ceanothus americanus
COMMON NAME: New Jersey Tea, Mountain Snowbell, Wild Snowball, American Ceanothus, Redroot, Jersey Tea
BLOOM TIME: June, July, Aug
INSECT/ANIMAL INTERACTIONS:
- Nectar & pollen attract insects, especially bees, wasps, flies, & beetles.
- Hairstreak butterflies also visit the flowers.
- Larvae of several moths feed on New Jersey Tea foliage.
- Foliage & stems readily consumed by mammalian herbivores, including elk (native in Illinois at one time), deer, rabbits, and livestock.
- Some upland gamebirds, Wild Turkey & Bobwhite Quail, consume as a food source.