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Woolly Chaffhead

Carphephorus tomentosus

Found in pine savannas, pine flatwoods, and longleaf pine sandhills. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

40
Good

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

Profile 94%

Height
Up to about 2.5 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet
Will it fit your yard?

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 · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 4 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

1 of 2

Pine savannas

Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype
Sandy pine savanna. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Pine flatwoods

Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer
Wet pine flatwoods with a shrub layer. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Flower color
White 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 · “White or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Height · “Up to about 2.5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankG4
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources