Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Verbesina virginica var. virginica
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read about "Ice Ribbons, Ice Flowers, Frost Flowers or whatever they might be called" on James Carter's web page.
Also see "Crystallofolia ('Frost Flowers')" by Bob Harms.
Learn more: "Know Your Natives - Frostweeds 'Bloom' Frost Flowers" by Arkansas Native Plant Society.
Finish off with Forrest Mims' time-lapse video capturing the formation of frost flowers.
Read more about Wingstems and Crownbeards from Linda Chafin and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Verbesina virginica's hairy stem and not sharply toothed leaves will separate it from V. alternifolia when neither is in flower. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Verbesina virginica var. virginica
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Verbesina virginica
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-66-004a:
Verbesina virginica var. virginica FAMILY Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phaethusa virginica
COMMON NAME:
White Crownbeard, Common Frostweed, White Wingstem, Virginia Wingstem
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm110515_568
May Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm0407za_04
July Pickens County SC
Roadside
Heads in compact corymbs, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow s110705_ab
July Greenville County SC
Petioles winged, leaves coarsely serrate but not lobed or dissected, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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JK Marlow jkm090812_006
August Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm090812_008
August Greenville County SC
The 3-5 ray flowers are white; disk flowers are grayish-white, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm090822_017
August Greenville County SC
Flower heads 20-100+ in a dense, usually flat-topped inflorescence, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
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JK Marlow jkm090822_018
August Greenville County SC
Involucre of 1-2 series of lanceolate, erect, pubescent bracts, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm090822_022
August Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm180814_3812
August McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_verbesina_virginica
August
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Patrick D. McMillan pdmvvirginica_wm2
August-September Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
JK Marlow jkm0509c_20
September SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm120913_769
September Greenville County SC
Petioles winged, the tissue decurrent on the stem as wide wings, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm120913_770
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm120913_778
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm120913_782
September Greenville County SC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_v_virginica_white_1
September Gilmer-Murray Counties GA
)
JK Marlow s050904_d
September SC
Roadside
Apex acute to acuminate, base rounded to cuneate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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JK Marlow jkm141020_162
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm131125_394
November Greenville County SC
One of only a few species which may extrude ribbons of ice after a hard freeze.
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JK Marlow jkm131125_415
November Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm131125_443
November Greenville County SC
These delicate ice formations are sometimes called "frost flowers".
)
JK Marlow jkm131125_445
November Greenville County SC
Other local "frost flower" producers include Cunila & some of the Crocanthemums.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Verbesina virginica var. virginica
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Verbesina virginica var. virginica
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Verbesina virginica
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-66-004a:
Verbesina virginica var. virginica
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phaethusa virginica
1604
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist to dryish forests and woodlands, especially over mafic or calcareous rocks, in Coastal Plain ravines in VA over coquina limestone, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common to uncommon (rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: White
Disc: White
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers sterile
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Dark brown
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p188
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p152
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p124
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p124
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p333
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p385
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p200
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".