Frostweed

Frostweed; click to enlarge.

One fall-blooming species whose flowers I’m still occasionally coming across in late November is Verbesina virginica, although today’s picture goes back to October 6, when I wandered along the shaded banks of Bull Creek in my northwest part of Austin. In the stage shown here, most buds were still closed, while some had just begun to open. You may think, quite reasonably, that the common name frostweed is a reference to the white ray flowers—other species of Verbesina have yellow rays—but that isn’t why people call this plant frostweed.

To see the many places in the southeastern third of the United States where Verbesina virginica grows, you can consult the state-clickable map at the USDA website.

© 2011 Steven Schwartzman