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Cowpen Daisy

Verbesina encelioides

Other common name(s):

Golden Crownbeard, Butter Daisy

Family:

Asteraceae (Aster Family)

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

Chihuahuan Deserts, Cross Timbers, East Central Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, High Plains, Southern Texas Plains, Texas Blackland Prairies, Western Gulf Coastal Plain
Chihuahuan Basins and Playas, Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands, Chihuahuan Montane Woodlands, Low Mountains and Bajadas, Stockton Plateau
Limestone Cut Plain
Southern Post Oak Savanna
Balcones Canyonlands, Edwards Plateau Woodland, Llano Uplift, Semiarid Edwards Plateau
Coastal Sand Plain, Laguna Madre Barrier Island and Coastal Marshes, Lower Rio Grande Alluvial Floodplain, Lower Rio Grande Valley, Mid-Coast Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes, Southern Subhumid Gulf Coastal Prairies
Arid Llano Estacado, Canadian/Cimarron High Plains, Llano Estacado, Rolling Sand Plains, Shinnery Sands
Northern Nueces Alluvial Plains, Rio Grande Floodplain and Terraces, Semiarid Edwards Bajada, Texas-Tamaulipan Thornscrub
Floodplains and Low Terraces1, Northern Blackland Prairie, Southern Blackland Prairie
Flatwoods, Floodplains and Low Terraces3, Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces, Red River Bottomlands, Southern Tertiary Uplands, Tertiary Uplands

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Herbaceous

Height

1
to
5
ft.

Spread

1
to
3
ft.

Leaf Retention

Deciduous

Lifespan

Annual

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Sand, Loam, Rocky, Limestone, Dry

Light Requirement

Sun

Water Requirement

Low

Native Habitat

Grassland

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

Yellow

Bloom Season

Spring, Summer, Fall

Seasonal Interest

Nectar, Larval Host

Wildlife Benefit

Butterflies, Nectar Insects, Bees

Maintenance

Allowing seed heads to dry on plants. Thrives on disturbed soil. Propagation: Seed.

Comments

Blooms April-October. A well-branched grayish-green plant, leaves toothed, nearly triangular. Yellow flower heads have 3-toothed rays. Good nectar source especially for late season butterflies. Larval Host: Bordered Patch Butterfly.

References

1) Griffith, Bryce, Omernick & Rodgers (2007). Ecoregions of Texas. 2) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=VEEN. 3) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Verbesina+encelioides&formsubmit=Search+Terms. 4) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=4725&locationType=County&mapType=Normal, 5) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=38601#null

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