Yellow Crownbeard
Verbesina occidentalis
Found in forests, woodlands, pastures, and roadsides, especially abundant in alluvial areas or upslope over mafic or calcareous rocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 3–8 feet
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- Summer and fall
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 37 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 85 animals.
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-crowned Night-heronNyctanassa violacea
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
Who uses this plant?
18CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Verbesina
- Chlosyne nycteisSilvery Checkerspot
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Anthanassa texanaTexan Crescent
- Basilodes pepitaGold Moth, Crownbeard Seedcropper
- Cirrhophanus trianguliferGoldenrod Stowaway, Beggarticks Seedcropper
- Dichomeris setosellaHairy Dichomeris
- Dysodia oculatanaEyed Thyris
- Euphydryas phaetonThe Baltimore, The Black Checker
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
- Lascoria ambigualisAmbiguous Moth, Ambiguous Litter Moth
Show all 18
- Ogdoconta cinereolaCommon Pinkband Groundling
- Phyciodes tharosPearl Crescent, Crescentspot
- Schinia binaBina Flower Moth
- Schinia sirenAluring Schinia Moth
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
- Adaina bipunctatus
40BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Verbesina
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
4Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Verbesina
- Andrena aliciae
- Calliopsis coloradensis
- Colletes compactus
- Megachile xylocopoides
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Verbesina
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–10b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Yellow
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Summer and fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Flower color · “Yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 6a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3–8 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Good drainage; Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox differs)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications