| Author | (Fernald) Semple & F.D. Bowers | |
| Distribution | This variety occurs in the inner Coastal Plain, Sandhills, Piedmont, and low mountains; disjunct to Brunswick and New Hanover counties along the southern coast.
Eastern MD and eastern VA south to FL and LA. | |
| Abundance | Common across the Piedmont and in the Sandhills; infrequent in the lower Mountains, and rare in the Coastal Plain outside of the Sandhills. Absent from most of the Coastal Plain and higher Mountains. This species should have an S5 State Rank, being found in over half of the counties in the state. | |
| Habitat | Dry to xeric Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass uplands, openings and edges of pine-oak-hickory woodlands, rocky slopes, powerline clearings, and roadsides. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting July-October. Responds well to recurring fire. | |
| Identification | The genus Pityopsis has been split from Chrysopsis (the golden-asters) and from Heterotheca (camphorweeds) by the silky, silvery, appressed hairs on leaves and stems. Pineland Silkgrass is a familiar composite of the Piedmont and Sandhills regions in dry and often sandy soil; it grows 1-1.5 feet tall, with slender basal leaves and stem leaves that become greatly reduced upwards. The upper third or more of the stem, and the inflorescence, have abundant stalked glands. The inflorescence is broad and rather open, with many small heads of yellow ray and disk florets. It is very similar to Small-headed Silkgrass (P. microcephala), but that species lacks stalked glands. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
In the understanding of the genus Pityopsis, great strides were made in the monograph by Semple and Bowers (1985, with keys, drawings and maps). Very recently, Bridges and Orzell (2018) revised some of the Florida taxa, based on examination of type specimens and lengthy field work (includes keys, maps). Finally, Nesom (2019) produced a synopsis of the genus (with full synonymy, keys and maps). Note that the taxonomic concepts of these authors, Weakley (2020, 2022), and us do not always agree; therefore, readers are encouraged to get familiar with these works and also get to know well your local plants. | |
| Other Common Name(s) | Pineland Silkgrass (full species), Grass-leaved Golden-aster | |
| State Rank | S4 [S5] | |
| Global Rank | G5T5 | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
