Native to the US states of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Kansas, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. This is the only member of the Croptilon genus to occur in Florida.

The stems are round and hairy. Leaves are serrate, lance shaped, to linear. The linear shape occurs near the top of the plants, and all of the leaves are stiffly hairy. When you touch either the leaves or the stem, your fingers come away somewhat tacky feeling.

Although they can bloom as early as July, the more common bloom period is August, September, and October. They produce copious amounts of seeds and readily volunteer to form large colonies.

These plants are charming. You don't really notice the foliage, as the higher up you go, the foliage becomes more needlelike and the stems bearing the blooms are quite thin. This all combines to produce an effect of bright, bright, bright yellow blooms floating in the air. When the sun hits them, they fairly glow! Very beautiful in large drifts. The blooms tend to open mid-morning rather than right off the bat, but they put on a real show for the rest of the day.

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