Snow-in-summer
Cerastium tomentosum
Found in disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 6 inches–1 foot
- Spread
- 9 inches–1.5 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to average
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Bloom
- April to July
Recorded in 1 Virginia county.
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.
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Cerastium
- Agnorisma badinodisPale-Banded Dart
- Agrotis venerabilisVenerable Dart, Dusky Cut-Worm
- Agrotis volubilisVoluble Dart
- Hadena capsularisCapsule Moth
- Haematopis gratariaChickweed Geometer
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
6BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Cerastium
- Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
- Lagopus leucuraWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
- Lagopus mutaRock Ptarmigan
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
Plant details
- Family
- Caryophyllaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–7b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- White
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–7b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “6 inches–1 foot” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Evergreen” · 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
- primary_flower_color · “white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “9 inches–1.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Snow in summer
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- 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