By late summer, the forests and mountain trails of the South Carolina Upstate can feel overwhelmingly green. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, splashes of bright yellow begin appearing along trail edges, roadsides, and openings in the woods.

One of the native wildflowers responsible for that late-summer color is yellow crownbeard (Verbesina occidentalis).

The flower in the photograph was growing among the thick summer vegetation of the Upstate. With its large leaves and bright yellow flower standing above the surrounding greenery, it is the kind of plant hikers can easily notice without necessarily knowing its name.

How to Recognize Yellow Crownbeard

At first glance, yellow crownbeard can look like a small sunflower. Both belong to the Asteraceae, or aster family, which includes sunflowers, asters, goldenrods, and many other familiar wildflowers.

Look a little closer, however, and crownbeard has several distinctive features.

The flower head has a yellow center surrounded by relatively few broad yellow rays. The leaves are large, somewhat rough-looking, and usually have toothed edges. Under favorable conditions, plants can grow several feet tall.

One of the best identification clues is the stem. Yellow crownbeard often has narrow strips of plant tissue running down the stem, giving it a flattened or “winged” appearance. This feature is common among plants in the Verbesina genus and can help separate crownbeard from other yellow wildflowers growing nearby.

A Native South Carolina Wildflower

Yellow crownbeard is native to the eastern United States, including South Carolina.

That makes it much more than just another pretty flower growing beside the trail. It is part of the natural plant community that developed alongside the insects and wildlife of our region.

In the Upstate, look for crownbeard around woodland edges, roadsides, disturbed areas, open forests, and sunny openings along trails. It can tolerate some shade but often flowers best where sunlight reaches the forest floor.

The plant becomes especially noticeable during late summer and early fall, when many spring wildflowers have long since disappeared.

Why It Is Important to Pollinators

Yellow crownbeard also provides an important late-season source of nectar and pollen.

Bees, butterflies, wasps, flies, and other insects may visit the flowers. This becomes increasingly important as summer progresses because some of the flowers that provided food earlier in the year are no longer blooming.

Late-blooming native plants help bridge that gap.

A patch of crownbeard may therefore look like nothing more than yellow flowers to a passing hiker, but to insects it can function as a small feeding station in the forest.

What Is Eating the Leaves?

The plant in the photograph also shows something else that is easy to overlook.

Several of its leaves have large holes and missing sections.

That does not necessarily mean the plant is unhealthy. Native plants are supposed to be eaten.

Caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, and other insects regularly feed on native vegetation. Those insects then become food for birds, spiders, reptiles, amphibians, and other animals.

A perfectly untouched plant is not always a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Sometimes those chewed leaves show the plant is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

Part of the Late-Summer Landscape

Spring gets most of the attention when people think about wildflowers, but late summer can be an excellent time to look for them in the Upstate.

Crownbeard begins appearing alongside other yellow flowers that become increasingly common as summer moves toward fall. Goldenrods, sunflowers, coneflowers, asters, and other species can turn woodland edges and mountain roadsides into surprisingly colorful places.

Because many of these flowers are yellow, identifying them from a distance can be difficult.

Crownbeard’s combination of large leaves, relatively few broad yellow rays, and winged stems provides some useful clues.

Should You Plant Crownbeard at Home?

For homeowners interested in native plants, crownbeard can be an interesting choice, particularly for a more naturalized section of a property.

It is not necessarily the plant for someone wanting a perfectly manicured flower bed. Crownbeard can become tall and has a decidedly wild appearance.

But that is also part of its value.

In a native garden, pollinator area, woodland edge, or less formal section of a yard, plants like crownbeard can provide both habitat and late-season flowers.

Native plants are particularly valuable because local wildlife has long-established relationships with them.

Look for It on Your Next Hike

One of the best parts about learning local wildflowers is that familiar trails begin to look different.

Instead of simply seeing a yellow flower beside the trail, you begin noticing the shape of its leaves, the insects visiting it, the structure of its stem, and the habitat where it grows.

Yellow crownbeard is a good example.

It is not a rare plant hidden deep in the mountains. It is a native wildflower growing right alongside many of the places we hike, drive, and explore throughout the South Carolina Upstate.

The next time you spot a tall yellow flower growing along a woodland edge in late summer, take a closer look at the stem.

Those little wings may tell you that you have found yellow crownbeard.