Eastern Turkeybeard
Xerophyllum asphodeloides
Found in dry forests and woodlands; forests and woodlands; mountain balds. 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 76%
- Height
- Up to about 5 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to June
- Fruiting season
- July to August
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 24 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
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. 136 animals.
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- American Tree SparrowSpizella arborea
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Brown-headed NuthatchSitta pusilla
- Chestnut-sided WarblerDendroica pensylvanica
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticorax
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Who uses this plant?
0CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—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
- Xerophyllaceae
- Flower color
- White
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- August
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “Up to about 5 feet” · 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
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Eastern Turkey Beard
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| 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