Carnegiea gigantea, Giant Saguaro

Southwest Desert Flora

Home to the plants of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mojave Deserts

Cirsium ochrocentrum, Yellowspine Thistle

Verbesina rothrockii, Rothrock's Crownbeard

Rothrock's Crownbeard has showy golden-yellow flowers. The flowering heads are on the tips of long leafless stems. Heads have both ray and disk florets. Verbesina rothrockii Rothrock's Crownbeard bracts or phyllaries that surround the heads are broadly linear to oblong as shown here; note the stems have long erect rigid hairs or bristles; plants are rough to the touch. Verbesina rothrockii Rothrock's Crownbeard has attractive daisy-like flowers which may be visited by butterflies, moths, flies, honeybees, Native Bees and other insects in search of food and nectar. Verbesina rothrockii Rothrock's Crownbeard has bright green leaves and the blades are generally ovate; the edges or margins are coarsely toothed to near smooth (entire); as with the stems, the leaves are rough to the touch as they are covered with very small, coarse, stiff or rigid hairs.  Verbesina rothrockii Rothrock's Crownbeard is 1 to 2 feet (30-60 cm) tall and blooms from May or June to August and September; preferred elevation is between 3,500 to 5,500 feet (1,067-1,676 m) more or less. Verbesina rothrockii

Scientific Name: Verbesina rothrockii
Common Name: Rothrock's Crownbeard

Also Called: Rothrock Crownbeard

Family: Asteraceae, Sunflower Family

Synonyms: (Ancistrophora wrightii, Verbesina longipes, Verbesina wrightii)

Status: Native

Duration: Perennial

Size: 1 to 2 feet (30-60 cm)

Growth Form: Forb/herb; plants upright (erect) stems few, reddish, slender; with a period of reduced activity between seasons, this plant is able to survive vegetatively from season to season; stems are rough to the touch (scabrid) with long erect rigid hairs or bristles (hispid).

Leaves: Green, bright green; leaf blades generally ovate; the edges or margins are coarsely toothed to near smooth (entire); lower leaves arranged oppositely along the stems, upper leaves are alternate; as with the stems, the leaves are rough to the touch (scabrid), as they are covered with very small, coarse, stiff or rigid hairs (hirtellous).

Flower Color: Yellow; showy golden-yellow; flowering heads singles (solitary); flowering heads on long leafless stems; heads with both ray and disk florets; bracts (phyllaries) are broadly linear (oblong) as shown in the photo above; fruit is a dark brown cypsela which looks similar to a flat sunflower seed.

Flowering Season: May or June to August and September

Elevation: 3,500 to 5,500 feet (1,067-1,676 m) more or less.

Habitat Preferences: Rocky hillsides and slopes, limestone soils.

Recorded Range: Rothrock’s Crownbeard is rare in the United States where its distribution is limited to south central and south eastern Arizona and in the southwest corner of New Mexico. Rothrock’s Crownbeard is also native to northern and central Mexico in Coahuila, Durango and Zacatecas.

North America & US County Distribution Map for Verbesina rothrockii.

North America species range map for Rothrock's Crownbeard Verbesina rothrockii:

Rothrock's Crownbeard Verbesina rothrockii: Click image for full size map.
Click image for full size map

U.S. Weed Information: Unknown
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: Unknown
Wetland Indicator: Unknown
Threatened/Endangered Information: Unknown

Genus Information: In North America there are 18 species and 18 accepted taxa overall for Verbesina. Worldwide, The Plant List includes 303 accepted species names and a further 62 scientific names of infraspecific rank for Verbesina.

The genus Verbesina was published in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus, (1707-1778).

In the Southwestern United States: Arizona has 3 species of Verbesina, California has 2 species, Nevada has 1 species, New Mexico has 5 species, Texas has 10 species, Utah has 1 species. Data approximate, subject to revision.

Comments: Rothrock’s Crownbeard is a rare sub-tropical species in the United States where its entire distribution is limited to southern Arizona and southwest New Mexico. Rothrock’s Crownbeard employs a survival strategy known as perennating, in which a part or parts of a plant rest in a period of quietness or inactivity and cease growing under adverse conditions, drought, cold or excessive heat, with the ability to resume new growth when favorable conditions return.

In Southwest Desert Flora also see Golden Crownbeard, Verbesina encelioides.

Importance to Wildlife, Birds and Livestock
Rothrock’s Crownbeard, Verbesina rothrockii has attractive daisy-like flowers, the flowers and their seeds may be visited by hummingbirds and/or small mammals including rodents and granivorous birds in search of nectar or food.

Beneficial Value to Butterflies, Honey Bees and Insects
Rothrock’s Crownbeard, Verbesina rothrockii has attractive daisy-like flowers, the flowers and their plants may be visited by butterflies, moths, flies, honeybees, Native Bees and other insects in search of food and nectar.

Etymology:
The genus “Verbesina” (Verbesi'na:) from the resemblance of the leaves to those of the the genus Verbena.

The genus Verbesina was published in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus, (1707-1778).

The species epithet rothrockii (rothrock'ii:) is in honor of Dr. Joseph Trimble Rothrock, (1839-1922).

Ethnobotany
Unknown

Date Profile Completed: 07/07/2012; updated 12/19/2020
References:
Kearney, Thomas H., Peebles, Robert H., 1960, Arizona Flora, University of California Press, Berkley and Los Angeles, California.
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database and USGS ITIS search; accessed 12/17/2020.
https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=VERO2
The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/; accessed 12/17/2020.
http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Compositae/Verbesina/
John L. Strother, FNA | Family List | FNA Vol. 21 | Asteraceae; Verbesina; 15. Verbesina rothrockii B. L. Robinson & Greenman, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts. 34: 541. 1899. Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico. 16+ vols. New York and Oxford.
Native Plant Information Network, NPIN (2013). Published on the Internet http://www.wildflower.org/plants/; accessed 12/19/2020. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas, Austin, TX.
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=VERO2
FNA 2006, Martin and Hutchings 1980; Editors: S.Buckley 2010, F.S.Coburn 2015; from SEINet Field Guide, on-line; accessed 12/19/2020.
https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=2007&clid=97
New Mexico Rare Plant Technical Council. 1999. New Mexico Rare Plants. Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Rare Plants Home Page. https://nmrareplants.unm.edu (Latest update: 18 Dec 2020).
Seiler, John, Peterson, John, North American species range map courtesy of Virginia Tech, Dept. of Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/
SEINet synonyms, scientific names, geographic locations, general information.
http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/
Etymology:Michael L. Charters California Plant Names: Latin and Greek Meanings and Derivations; A Dictionary of Botanical and Biographical Etymology - (accessed 12/17/2020, 12/19/2020)
http://www.calflora.net/botanicalnames/pageV.html
http://www.calflora.net/botanicalnames/pageR.html
IPNI (2020). International Plant Names Index. Published on the Internet http://www.ipni.org, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. [Retrieved 17 December 2020].
https://www.ipni.org/?q=Verbesina