Canada Frostweed
Crocanthemum canadense
Found in fields, woodlands, forest edges, roadsides, disturbed areas. 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%
- Height
- 8–24 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Fruiting season
- June 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 38 Virginia counties.
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.
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. 106 animals.
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- White-winged CrossbillLoxia leucoptera
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Bachman's SparrowAimophila aestivalis
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Blackburnian WarblerDendroica fusca
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown-headed NuthatchSitta pusilla
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
- June
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “8–24 inches” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Helianthemum canadense
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| 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
- 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

























