Overview
Virginia waterleaf, Hydrophyllum virginianum, is a Wisconsin native herbaceous perennial in the Boraginaceae (borage family), but sometimes still listed in the Hydrophyllaceae (waterleaf family). It is found in moist to wet wooded areas of eastern North America from eastern Canada to the eastern Dakotas and south to Missouri and North Carolina in Zones 4a to 8b. Also called eastern waterleaf, Shawnee salad, and other common names, it is easily distinguished from other Hydrophyllum species (most of which do not occur in Wisconsin) by several characteristics of the stems, leaves and flowers. Native Americans used the plant medicinally.
This species grows from a tuft of fibrous roots and rhizomes to form large colonies 1 to 2½ feet tall. The broadly oval to triangular leaves are pinnately divided almost to the midrib into 3 to 7 lobes with acute tips and coarsely toothed margins. The leaves may be solid green but the earliest leaves to emerge develop irregular white spots that resemble water stains on the upper surface as they age (this doesn’t occur on later leaves). The plants begin to senesce in early summer and disappear later in the year. The only other species in Wisconsin, great waterleaf, H. appendiculatum, is found primarily in the southwestern part of the state and has more rounded leaves with 5 to 7 shallow, palmately-divided lobes.
Flowers appear in mid spring to early summer (a little later than most spring-blooming woodland wildflowers) on erect leafless peduncles extending from the upper stems above the leaves. Each peduncle produces a dense terminal spherical cyme about two inches across containing 8 to 20 flowers. Each small flower has a hairy green calyx, a tubular to bell-shaped corolla with five lobes, five conspicuous protruding hairy stamens with pale yellow tips that turn purplish-brown with age, and a slender style divided at the tip. The blossoms may be white, pink, pale blue or light purple. The flowers are pollinated by bumblebees, small carpenter bees, and other long-tongued bees feeding on the nectar – including the native waterleaf cuckoo bee which feeds only on plants in the genus Hydrophyllum – and are visited by other bees and flies which consume the pollen.
Flowers are followed by seed capsules. When ripe the capsules split open to release the small seeds. It self-seeds readily.
Landscape Use of Virginia Waterleaf
This native perennial prefers partly shady sites and moist, loamy soil rich in organic matter. It can be a good addition to woodland gardens, but as it can spread somewhat aggressively, it is not a great choice for small landscapes. Plants can be dug out but the relatively fragile green or reddish green stems break easily, leaving the extensive root system intact to regrow if not done carefully. It is a good plant to quickly fill bare areas and help reduce soil erosion, especially in woodland areas where invasive buckthorn has recently been removed. It has few pests but deer may graze the foliage.
As a native woodland plant, it is commonly found in association with other woodland species including white baneberry (Actea pachypoda), wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), wild ginger (Asarum canadensis), blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), trout lilies (Erythronium spp), wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata), May apple (Podophyllum peltatum), and early meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum).
Propagating Virginia Waterleaf
It is relatively easy to grow from seed, as long as fresh seed is used and cold, moist stratification is provided. Fresh seed can be sown directly in the garden for germination the following spring, or seed can be artificially cold stratified in a refrigerator for 60 days. Seedlings will flower in the second or third year.
Virginia waterleaf is easy to propagate by rhizome division while plants are dormant or in the fall. Divide the rhizome to that each section contains a bud and roots.
Author: Susan Mahr, University of Wisconsin—Madison
Reviewers: Allen Pyle, Horticulture Outreach Specialist, UW—Madison Extension, Bruce Spangenberg, Horticulture Outreach Specialist, UW—Madison Extension
Revised: September 2026
