# Maryland golden-aster

*Chrysopsis mariana*

Its genus name Chrysopsis translates directly from Greek as 'golden appearance', a nod to its bright, sun-mimicking yellow flower heads.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Asterales › Asteraceae › Chrysopsis
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Dry, sandy or clayey soils in open pine woodlands, barrens, meadows, and roadsides.
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (produces energy via photosynthesis using sunlight, water, and soil nutrients).
- **Range:** Eastern United States, Southern United States
- **Size:** 12 to 30 inches (30 to 75 cm) tall
- **Lifespan:** Perennial (typically lives for 3 to 7 years, regenerating annually from a woody caudex).
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat fragmentation, fire suppression leading to overshaded canopies, and displacement by invasive weeds.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. This plant is completely safe to approach and touch. Avoid trampling its root systems or picking the wild flowers; instead, take photos and leave them for native pollinators.

## About

Chrysopsis mariana , known as the Maryland golden-aster , is a North American species of plants in the sunflower family The Maryland golden-aster ranges from Rhode Island and New York, west to Kentucky and southern Ohio, and south as far as Florida and Texas.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/00c65463-6bbe-451e-911b-3d943b6b8f76
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/160557
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopsis mariana
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/54827651/medium.jpg (Becky Dill, CC0, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.