Cottony Golden-aster
Chrysopsis gossypina
Found in longleaf pine sandhills, coastal dunes, Florida scrub, other dry sandy places. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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
- September to October
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 2 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.
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?
17CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Heterotheca
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
- Cucullia alfarataCamphorweed Cucullia, Halloween Paint, Camphorweed Cucullia
- Epiblema scudderianaScudder's Epiblema, Goldenrod Gall Moth
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Feltia subgothicaSubgothic Dart
- Feltia tricosaConfused Dart, Tricose Dart
- Heliocheilus paradoxusParadoxical Grass Moth
- Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
- Ponometia semiflavaHalf-Yellow Bird-Dropping Moth, Half-Yellow Moth
Show all 17
- Schinia arcigeraArcigera Flower Moth
- Schinia lynxLynx Flower Moth
- Schinia nubilaCamphorweed Flower Moth
- Schinia saturataBrown Flower Moth
- Schinia sirenAluring Schinia Moth
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
37BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Heterotheca
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
22Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Heterotheca
- Andrena fulvipennis
- Ashmeadiella bucconis
- Colletes speculiferus
- Colletes thysanellae
- Dieunomia heteropoda
- Dieunomia nevadensis
- Hesperapis carinata
- Melissodes coreopsis
- Melissodes dentiventris
- Melissodes desponsus
Show all 22
- Melissodes druriellus
- Melissodes menuachus
- Perdita albipennis
- Perdita bishoppi
- Perdita boltoniae
- Perdita consobrina
- Perdita georgica
- Perdita graenicheri
- Perdita ignota
- Perdita octomaculata
- Perdita swenki
- Perdita xanthismae
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Flower color
- Orange or yellow
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “September to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Orange or yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Cottony Golden aster; Heterotheca gossypina; golden aster; golden-aster
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | 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)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- 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