Pterocaulon virgatum(L.) DC.

wand blackroot

WFO wfo-0000135734 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Pterocaulon virgatum, photographed by Romi Galeota Lencina
fig. a Romi Galeota Lencina, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-02-13 / obs. 179271697
Pterocaulon virgatum, photographed by Mimi Posey
fig. b Mimi Posey, CC0 1.0 / obs. 154429855
Pterocaulon virgatum, photographed by Robert Creech
fig. c Robert Creech, CC0 1.0 / obs. 145227344
Pterocaulon virgatum, photographed by Rich Sommer
fig. d Rich Sommer, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 96246799
Pterocaulon virgatum, photographed by lanechaffin
fig. e lanechaffin, CC0 1.0 / obs. 168710808
Pterocaulon virgatum, photographed by Cody Stricker
fig. f Cody Stricker, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 160209023
Pterocaulon virgatum, photographed by Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）
fig. g Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 155993206
Pterocaulon virgatum, photographed by Robert Creech
fig. h Robert Creech, CC0 1.0 / obs. 154769286

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 22 botanical countries

Regions where Pterocaulon virgatum is native: Alabama, Louisiana, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Texas, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Bolivia, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Uruguay AlabamaLouisianaMexico GulfMexico NortheastTexasArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBoliviaBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCubaDominican RepublicHaitiHondurasJamaicaParaguayPuerto RicoUruguay Leeward Is.
Native distribution of Pterocaulon virgatum, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Bolivia BOL
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Paraguay PAR
Puerto Rico PUE
Uruguay URU
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Louisiana LOU
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Texas TEX

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 19 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Baccharis virgata Bojer ex DC.
  • Chlaenobolus spicatus Cass.
  • Chlaenobolus virgata (L.) Cass.
  • Chlaenobolus virgatus (L.) Cass.
  • Conyza virgata (L.) L.
  • Conyza virgata DC.
  • Conyza virgata var. virgata
  • Gnaphalium decurrens Schrank
  • Gnaphalium spicatum Mill.
  • Gnaphalium spicatum f. spicatum
  • Gnaphalium virgatum L.
  • Pterocaulon pilcomayense Malme
  • Pterocaulon pompilianum Standl. & L.O.Williams
  • Pterocaulon subspicatum Malme
  • Pterocaulon subspicatum Malme
  • Pterocaulon subvirgatum Malme
  • Pterocaulon virgatum f. subvirgata (Malme) Arechav.
  • Pterocaulon virgatum f. virgatum
  • Pterocaulon virgatum var. virgatum

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.