Hoary Frostweed
Crocanthemum bicknellii
Found in woodlands, glades, barrens, rock outcrops, grassy balds, serpentine grasslands, to at least 1500m in elevation. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 8–24 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry
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
- Fruiting season
- August to October
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom
Bloom: NC species account not read yet.
Spread and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 7 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.


Habitats
Forests and woodlands; glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; mountain balds; prairies and grasslands.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 125 animals.
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common RavenCorvus corax
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
Who uses this plant?
3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Crocanthemum
- Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
- Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
- Chionodes franclemonti
2BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Crocanthemum
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
- Cistaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- October
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “8–24 inches” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Helianthemum bicknellii
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)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (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

























