Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Slender Scratch-daisy - Croptilon divaricatum   (Nuttall) Rafinesque
Members of Asteraceae:
Only member of Croptilon in NC.
Google Images
Section 6 » Order Asterales » Family Asteraceae
Show/Hide Synonym
Author(Nuttall) Rafinesque
DistributionNearly throughout the Coastal Plain (including the Sandhills), and also sparingly in the southern Piedmont.

Southeastern VA to AR and OK, south to central FL and central TX.
AbundanceCommon to locally abundant in the Sandhills and parts of the southern Coastal Plain to the east. Fairly common in the northern Coastal Plain, but absent in the far northeastern counties. Rare to uncommon in the southern and eastern Piedmont. Note that the Global Rank should be moved to G5, instead of G4G5.
HabitatDry to xeric sandy soils of Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass uplands (especially where disturbed mechanically), Loblolly Pine-oak woodlands, clearings, roadsides, fallow fields, powerlines.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting August-November.
IdentificationSlender Scratch-daisy is quite easy to identify, by its slender stems up to 4 or even 5 feet tall, its sessile, lance-shaped leaves with several teeth, and the open inflorescence of very small heads with yellow rays and disks. This species can be the dominant (tall) herb of vacant sandy fields in the southern Coastal Plain.
Taxonomic CommentsIn older texts treated as Haplopappus divaricatus.

Other Common Name(s)Scratch-daisy. This species went for decades with essentially no common names, or poorly ingrained ones.
State RankS5
Global RankG4G5 [G5]
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcpUPL link
USACE-empUPL link
County Map - click on a county to view source of record.
Photo Gallery
photographercommentsphoto_linkcountyobsType
B.A. SorrieSandhills Game Land, bird dog field trial swath, Sept 2009. RichmondPhoto_natural
Select a source
AllHerbaria
Individual
Website
Select an occurrence type
AllCollection_naturalPhoto_naturalSight_natural