| Author | (Pursh) Janchen | |
| Distribution | Limited essentially to the Sandhills region, and known from 5 of the counties in this region, north to Richmond, Moore, and Cumberland counties; in addition, there is a 2021 specimen at NCU from neighboring Anson County (in the eastern Piedmont). There had or has been some discussion about whether the species is truly native in NC, as it grows mostly in fields and roadsides, but it is widespread in SC in sandy soil, and thus it is not a stretch to consider the NC populations as an extension of this overall population.
This is a Southern species, ranging from southern NC south to northern FL and west to central TX. | |
| Abundance | Rare to locally uncommon, with nine records listed in the NCNHP database. As all are still extant, and as the species grows mostly along roadsides or other disturbed ground, it is rightly considered to have a State Rank of S2 instead of S1 or S1S2. However, it is a State Threatened species. Most populations have less than 100 stems or clumps of plants, and numbers vary greatly over time. For example, the population near the old school in Hoffman (Richmond Co.) had roughly 1,000 clumps in 2024, far more than ever before, even though the site management has been the same. | |
| Habitat | This species is found in NC mostly along sandy roadsides and in vacant fields, and it seldom is recorded in pine/scrub oak sandhills or other natural habitats. Nonetheless, it is found near, or in association with, Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) habitats. | |
| Phenology | Blooms in May and June, and fruits from July to October. | |
| Identification | This is a multi-stemmed herb from branching underground rhizomes, each plant forming a clump. The ascending or erect branches reaching only about 1-1.5 feet tall -- looking "bushy" enough to look like a small woody shrub. The whole plant is very hoary-looking and pale gray-green or pale bluish-green. The numerous stem leaves are alternate and linear to narrowly elliptic, 1-1.5 inches long but only 1/5-inch wide. The numerous flowers are in small axillary or terminal clusters; each is light to medium yellow, with 5 petals, and a spread of about 3/4-inch across. The bushy look of the plants and their very pale green color make them quite obvious to the observer, quite different from the mostly single-stemmed and green-leaved C. canadense, the most often seen species in the NC Sandhills region. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
All NC species of Crocanthemum were formerly placed in the genus Helianthemum. | |
| Other Common Name(s) | Rosemary Sunrose | |
| State Rank | S2 | |
| Global Rank | G4 | |
| State Status | T | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
