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Ruby-throated hummingbird
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
Bird
The only hummingbird species breeding in eastern North America. Long bills and tongues let it reach nectar in tubular flowers (wild columbine, bee balm, garden phlox, trumpet vine) that exclude shorter-tongued pollinators. The plant–hummingbird coevolution is so specific that several eastern native flowers can be functionally read as "hummingbird flowers."
Plants in the catalog
Plants this species pollinates · 4
Wild columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Specialist
The pendant red-and-yellow flowers with long spurs are evolved specifically for hummingbird pollination — long tongues reach the nectar at the spur tips. Several eastern native flowers can be read as "hummingbird flowers" but wild columbine is among the most specifically coevolved.
Coral bells
Heuchera spp.
Documented
The small bell-shaped flowers on tall stalks are well-suited to hummingbird visits, particularly on the red-flowered Heuchera sanguinea types.
Garden phlox
Phlox paniculata
Documented
Scarlet bee balm
Monarda didyma
Documented
The tubular red flowers (especially on Monarda didyma) are evolved for hummingbird pollination — long bills reach the nectar tubes.
Nectar plants · 36
Cardinal flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Specialist
The scarlet, long-tubed flowers are shaped for the ruby-throated hummingbird, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents the plant as depending on hummingbirds for pollination because insects struggle with the long tubular flowers — making this a keystone late-summer hummingbird nectar source.
Adam's needle
Yucca filamentosa
Documented
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center notes the white flowers are visited by hummingbirds.
Anise hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
Documented
Both Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center list the tubular flowers as attracting hummingbirds.
Bleeding heart
Lamprocapnos spectabilis
Documented
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists bleeding heart among plants that attract hummingbirds; the nodding pendant spring flowers are a nectar source for the ruby-throated hummingbird.
Blue flag iris
Iris versicolor
Documented
Blue vervain
Verbena hastata
Documented
The Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists the flowers as attractive to hummingbirds; the tubular purplish-blue blooms suit the ruby-throated hummingbird across this range.
California fuchsia
Epilobium canum
Documented
The scarlet tubular flowers are a documented hummingbird nectar plant; the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center notes the nectar supplies hummingbirds with food for the start of their southward migration. (Within Epilobium canum’s western range the regular visitors are western hummingbird species such as Anna’s and rufous; ruby-throated is the catalog’s hummingbird entity standing in for this hummingbird-nectar relationship.)
Catmint
Nepeta x faassenii
Plausible
The tubular lavender-blue flowers are a plausible nectar source for ruby-throated hummingbirds, which visit many tubular mint-family flowers, though the published sources flag bees rather than hummingbirds specifically.
Clematis
Clematis (hybrid)
Plausible
The NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists Clematis x jackmanii as attracting hummingbirds.
Common lilac
Syringa vulgaris
Documented
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists the showy, fragrant flowers of common lilac as attracting hummingbirds.
Common zinnia
Zinnia elegans
Documented
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Zinnia elegans as attracting hummingbirds; the bright, showy flowers are a common ruby-throated hummingbird nectar source in summer gardens.
Daylily
Hemerocallis (hybrid)
Plausible
The large, funnel-shaped, nectar-rich daylily flowers are a frequently documented nectar source for ruby-throated hummingbirds in eastern North American gardens.
Firecracker penstemon
Penstemon eatonii
Documented
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents that firecracker penstemon attracts hummingbirds; its narrow scarlet tubular flowers are a textbook hummingbird-pollination syndrome. (The ruby-throated hummingbird stands in here for the western hummingbirds — e.g. broad-tailed, black-chinned — that overlap this species' Intermountain West range; Plotwright's wildlife catalog does not yet carry those western species.)
Foxglove beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
Documented
NC State explicitly names hummingbirds among visitors; the long white tubular flowers suit the hummingbird hover-feed approach.
Golden currant
Ribes aureum
Documented
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Ribes aureum as attracting hummingbirds to its showy, fragrant, tubular yellow-orange spring flowers.
Hairy alumroot
Heuchera villosa
Documented
Hollyhock
Alcea rosea
Documented
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Alcea rosea as attracting hummingbirds; the large funnel-shaped flowers offer accessible nectar through the June-August bloom.
Impatiens
Impatiens walleriana
Documented
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists Impatiens walleriana as attracting hummingbirds; the slender nectar spur suits a long-billed/long-tongued nectar feeder.
Indian pink
Spigelia marilandica
Documented
Tubular red flowers are a canonical hummingbird specialist plant.
Lantana
Lantana camara
Documented
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists the showy flowers as attractive to hummingbirds — the long, tubular five-lobed florets are a classic hummingbird nectar source.
Morning glory
Ipomoea tricolor
Documented
The NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox flags Ipomoea tricolor as attracting hummingbirds; the deep nectar-bearing trumpets suit a long-billed nectar feeder.
Mountain laurel
Kalmia latifolia
Documented
NC State explicitly names hummingbirds among visitors; the cup-shaped flowers hold nectar that hummingbird tongues can access despite the species's primary bumblebee co-evolution.
Nasturtium
Tropaeolum majus
Documented
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Tropaeolum majus flowers as attracting hummingbirds — the long nectar spur on each funnel-shaped bloom rewards long-tongued nectar feeders.
Parry's agave
Agave parryi
Documented
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists Agave parryi's flowers as a nectar source for hummingbirds. The tall, tubular yellow flower clusters are a classic hummingbird-pollinated agave inflorescence, though in this species' native Southwest the local hummingbird species differ from the eastern ruby-throated; flowering is rare (once per rosette).
Petunia
Petunia x atkinsiana
Documented
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists the garden petunia’s flowers as providing nectar for hummingbirds; the deep funnel-shaped corolla suits the ruby-throated hummingbird’s long bill.
Pinxter azalea
Rhododendron periclymenoides
Documented
Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus
Documented
The NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists Hibiscus syriacus as attracting hummingbirds; its large open nectar-bearing flowers are a documented summer nectar source.
Russian sage
Salvia yangii
Documented
The NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists hummingbirds among the wildlife the flowers attract.
Snapdragon
Antirrhinum majus
Documented
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists snapdragon among the plants that attract hummingbirds; the tubular two-lipped flowers offer nectar to long-tongued visitors.
Summersweet (sweet pepperbush)
Clethra alnifolia
Documented
NC State explicitly names hummingbirds among the visitors; the upright flower spike with abundant individual florets provides a sustained nectar reward across the bloom window.
Tulip tree (yellow poplar)
Liriodendron tulipifera
Documented
The cup-shaped flowers hold copious nectar at the petal base, well-suited to hummingbird feeding alongside the bee pollinator community.
Virginia bluebells
Mertensia virginica
Documented
NC State explicitly lists hummingbirds among the visitors; the pendulous bell shape suits the hummingbird hovering-feed approach.
Wild bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Documented
NC State explicitly lists ruby-throated hummingbird among Monarda fistulosa visitors; the tubular pink flowers fit the species's flower-shape preference, even though wild bergamot is less hummingbird-specific than its red-flowered cousin M. didyma.
Wild lupine
Lupinus perennis
Documented
Both NC State Extension and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center list wild lupine as attracting hummingbirds.
Wild senna
Senna hebecarpa
Plausible
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists hummingbirds among the species the flowers attract.
Woodland phlox
Phlox divaricata
Documented
NC State explicitly lists hummingbirds among the visitors; the tubular corolla shape fits hummingbird bill morphology.
Range
Breeds across the eastern United States and southern Canada; migrates to Central America.
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