Verbesina virginica

Verbesina virginica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Heliantheae
Genus:	Verbesina
Species:	V. virginica
Binomial name
Verbesina virginica L.

Verbesina virginica, known by the common names white crownbeard, ^[1] or frostweed ^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the Southeastern United States, where it is found in calcareous soil, often in bottomland thickets and edges of woods. ^[3]

It is a tall perennial species. It produces heads of white flowers in late summer through fall. The name "frostweed" refers to its tendency to exude water from the base of its stems that then freeze and create ribbon like ice structures during wintertime.

Description

V. virginica grows to 2.1 metres (6.9 ft) tall with winged stalks and alternate, oval or lanceolate leaves. The leaves are up to 18 centimetres (7.1 in) long and 5.1 centimetres (2 in) wide and slightly toothed. Flower heads consist of multiple flowers arranged in a cluster, or corymb, at the terminal end of the stems. ^[4] Each flower head actually consists of 1 to 5 ray florets and 8 to 15 disk florets. ^[5]

Frostweed with a frost flower

Distribution and habitat

This species is endemic to a region stretching from southern South Carolina south to Florida's peninsula. A majority of individuals occur in Florida. ^[6]

V. virginica has been observed in habitats such as mesic woodlands, slash pinewoods, floodplains, and mixed oak-pine woodlands. ^[7]

References

1. NRCS. "Verbesina virginica". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 29 July 2015.
2. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org.
3. Verbesina virginica in Flora of North America
4. "Know Your Natives – Frostweeds "Bloom" Frost Flowers". Arkansas Native Plant Society. 26 November 2013.
5. "US Wildflower - White Crownbeard, Frostweed, Iceplant, Virginia crownbeard - Verbesina virginica". USWildflowers.com.
6. Sorrie, B. A. and A. S. Weakley 2001. Coastal Plain valcular plant endemics: Phytogeographic patterns. Castanea 66: 50-82.
7. Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: July 2015. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, Kathy Craddock Burks, Robert Kral, Robert K. Godfrey, M. R. Darst, Victoria I. Sullivan, R. E. Perdue, Jr., Richard S. Mitchell, Robert L. Lazor, Jean W. Wooten, Cecil R Slaughter, Marc Minno, George R. Cooley, R. J. Eaton, James D. Ray, Jr., James R. Burkhalter, R. M. Eilers, Andre F. Clewell, J. B. Nelson, S. D. Todd, Delzie Demaree, H. F L. Rock, Robert Runyon, James W. Hardin, J. Mendell, B. C. Tharpe, Fred A. Barkley, J. Haesloop, Sidney McDaniel, Paul L. Redfearn, Jr., R. A. Pursell, W. M. Longnecker, J. P. Gillespie, Lester F. Ward, Harry E. Ahles,, C. L. Lundell, John W. Thieret, Norlan C. Henderson, K. E. Blum, W. D. Reese, O. Hester, A. E. Radford, C. L. Lundell, Amelia Lundell, V. L. Cory, R. Komarek, R. A. Norris. States and Counties: Alabama: Limestone. Arkansas, Hot Springs, Howard, Lawrence, Marion, Polk, Yell. Florida: Brevard, Clay, Dade, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Hernando, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Osceola, Pinellas, St. John, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton. Georgia: Grady, Thomas, Walker. Kentucky: Jessamine. Louisiana: Iberia, Lafayette, Ouachita. Mississippi: Chickasaw, Coahoma, Hancock, Jackson. Missouri: Douglas, Franklin, Stone. South Carolina: Charleston, Pickens. Tennessee: Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner. Texas: Cameron, Dallas, Gonzales, Hays, Hidlago, Somervell.