Frostweed; White Crownbeard
Verbesina virginica var. virginica
Found in forests and woodlands; moist forests. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 41%
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 14 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

Habitats
Forests and woodlands; moist forests.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Who uses this plant?
22CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Verbesina
- Chlosyne nycteisSilvery Checkerspot
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Basilodes pepitaGold Moth, Crownbeard Seedcropper
- Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure
- Chlosyne harrisiiHarris' Checkerspot
- Cirrhophanus trianguliferGoldenrod Stowaway, Beggarticks Seedcropper
- Dichomeris setosellaHairy Dichomeris
- Dysodia oculatanaEyed Thyris
- Euphydryas phaetonThe Baltimore, The Black Checker
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
Show all 22
- Lascoria ambigualisAmbiguous Moth, Ambiguous Litter Moth
- Ogdoconta cinereolaCommon Pinkband Groundling
- Phyciodes tharosPearl Crescent, Crescentspot
- Schinia sirenAluring Schinia Moth
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
- Adaina bipunctatus
- Agonopterix eupatoriiella
- Cremastobombycia ignota
- Dichrorampha leopardana
- Phtheochroa terminana
40BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Verbesina
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
4Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Verbesina
- Andrena aliciae
- Calliopsis coloradensis
- Colletes compactus
- Megachile xylocopoides
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Verbesina
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- ASTERACEAE
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S3 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5?T5? |
| 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: Florida (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (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

