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Ozark Crownbeard

Verbesina helianthoides

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in prairies, oak savannas, glades, dry woodlands over mafic rocks, barrens. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

80
Keystone

Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
1 foot 8 inches–3 feet 11 inches
Spread
1–2 feet
Light
Full sun to part shade
Soil moisture
Dry to average

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
May to October

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 40 Arkansas counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

Oak savannas and openings

Open-grown oaks over grass and wildflowers, kept open by fire or thin soil; not the treeless prairies or the Coastal Plain's pine savannas.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 27 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (59)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of Arkansas

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

16CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR

Genus host records with ranges including AR · Verbesina

  • Chlosyne nycteisSilvery Checkerspot
  • Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
  • 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
  • Ogdoconta cinereolaCommon Pinkband Groundling
Show all 16
  • 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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
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
1BirdsRecorded eating Verbesina in Arkansas

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Flies 2
  • Scepsis fulvicollis
  • Systoechus vulgaris

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Adult butterflies / moths 2
  • Phyciodes tharos
  • Thanaos juvenalis

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other wasps 3
  • Sphex nigricans
  • Sphex procera
  • Stictiella pictifrons

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Other insects

Birds that eat Verbesina 1

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 5–8
Flower color
Yellow

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Gravelweed

Conservation status

Arkansas rankSNR
Global rankG5
AR statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources