North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Genus:
Family:

Verbesina occidentalis

Verbesina occidentalis (L.) Walter

southern crownbeard, yellow crownbeard

Synonym(s): Phaethusa occidentalis

Verbesina occidentalis (Southern Crownbeard)

Image ID: 9745
Image by: Ware, Richard & Teresa
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: VEOC
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Verbesina occidentalis
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-09-25

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: VERBE2
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Verbesina
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Crownbeard
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 200-300 species, trees, shrubs, and herbs, of tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate America.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Strother in FNA (2006c); Olsen (1979)=Z; Coleman (1966)=Y; Cronquist (1980)=SE.

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: ASTERA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Asteraceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Dumortier 1822 or COMPOSITAE Giseke 1792
FAMILY COMMON: Aster Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 1500-1700 genera and 20,000-25,000 species, shrubs, herbs, trees, and vines, cosmopolitan in distribution.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Cronquist (1980)=SE throughout family treatment.

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO: Erect perennial found in forests, woodlands, pastures, and roadsides, especially abundant in alluvial areas or upslope over mafic or calcareous rocks.
STEMS: Stems 4-winged, branched in inflorescence, smooth below and minutely hairy above.
LEAVES: Leaves opposite, on winged petioles, broadly oval, 2 1/2-9 in. long, shallowly toothed and hairy beneath.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Composite flowers (heads) in a large, open, branching terminal cluster; heads to 2 1/2 in. wide, consisting of 1-5 bright yellow ray florets (to 3/4 in. long each) encircling a domed center disk of greenish-yellow, tubular florets.
FRUITS: Fruit a spherical head of achenes (lacking wings).
COMMENTS: Note the similarity to Verbesina alternifolia, which has alternate leaves and often more ray florets.
HEIGHT: 3-10 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate, Opposite
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Mixed
BLOOM TIME: Aug-Sep

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
						x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Yellow

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
				x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Bottomlands, Moist forests
NATIVE RANGE: southeastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Southern crownbeard is a large perennial that develops winged stems that can reach well over 6 feet long and support large, oppositely arranged leaves. In late summer it forms bright yellow ray flowers around a disk, but these are often sparse and not uniformly distributed giving it a jaunty appearance. Southern crownbeard makes a great addition to any wildflower meadow and can be used effectively in the back of a perennial border. The genus Verbesina supports up to 16 lepidoptera species.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 6
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 10
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly, Bird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
4027	1992-0183			View
5218	1995-0337			View
5519	1995-0642			View
6369	1995-1501			View

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
961	SOS	2017-11-28	Faucette	View
2324	NPMD	2019-10-28	Touloupas	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
6355	4027	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
7671	5218	203	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
8033	5519	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
9024	6369	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: VEOC
USDA Common Name: Yellow Crownbeard
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, KY, LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACU				FACU			FACU

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Verbesina occidentalis
COMMON NAME: Southern Crownbeard
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, FNA, G, GW, Il, K, RAB, SE, Va, WH3, WV; = Phaethusa occidentalis (Linnaeus) Britton - S]
PHENOLOGY:
HABITAT: Forests, woodlands, pastures, and roadsides, especially abundant in alluvial areas or upslope over mafic or calcareous rocks.
COMMENTS: MD west to OH and MO, south to Panhandle FL and MS.
RANGE MAP: Verbesina occidentalis.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Asteraceae Dumortier 1822 or COMPOSITAE Giseke 1792 (Aster Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 1500-1700 genera and 20,000-25,000 species, shrubs, herbs, trees, and vines, cosmopolitan in distribution.
REFERENCE: Cronquist (1980)=SE throughout family treatment.

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Verbesina L. (Crownbeard)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 200-300 species, trees, shrubs, and herbs, of tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate America.
REFERENCE: Strother in FNA (2006c); Olsen (1979)=Z; Coleman (1966)=Y; Cronquist (1980)=SE.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Verbesina occidentalis in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Verbesina occidentalis in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Verbesina occidentalis in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Verbesina occidentalis in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Verbesina occidentalis in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Verbesina occidentalis