Sandywoods Chaffhead
Carphephorus bellidifolius
Found in longleaf pine sandhills, rarely in other dry sandy forests and woodlands. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 1–2 feet
- Spread
- 1–3 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to average
Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- August to October
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 6 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 79 animals.
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American Tree SparrowSpizella arborea
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Bachman's SparrowAimophila aestivalis
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Brown-headed NuthatchSitta pusilla
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
Who uses this plant?
4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Carphephorus
- Calephelis virginiensisNorthern Metalmark
- Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
11BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Carphephorus
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 4.0No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 7a–10b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Blue, pink or purple
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “August to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Blue, pink or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Hardiness · “Zones 7a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- 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
- Soil · “Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S1S2 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 [G5] |
| VA 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
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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

























