''Vernonia baldwinii'', commonly known as western ironweed or Baldwin's ironweed, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

native to the central United States. It is in the

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

(aster) family.

Description

''Vernonia baldwinii'' is a tall, perennial herb with

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s. Its stems are densely

tomentose Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

, branched, round in cross section, and range up to in height, sometimes taller. Its leaves are

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

cauline A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

and

alternate Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

, and are about in length and in width. The larger leaves have serrated edges. The upper surface of the leaves is minutely hairy, and the lower surface has longer, often bent or tangled hairs. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is showy and somewhat flat-topped, consisting of irregularly branched terminal

panicles A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are o ...

, and measures or more across. Flowerheads have 17 to 34 disk flowers only, with no ray flowers. The corollas on the disk flowers are deep pink to purple, 5-lobed, glabrous, and long.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Vernonia'' is named for the English botanist William Vernon, and the species ''baldwinii'' is named for William Baldwin, the American botanist and physician who collected the plant. The common name "western ironweed" is derived from the range of the plant, the western United States, and derived from the toughness of the stem and roots of the plant.

Distribution and habitat

It grows in dry soil in prairies, pastures, open grounds, and woods, ranging from

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, and

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Ecology

The flowers bloom in the summer, from May to September, attracting bees, butterflies, and other insects. American goldfinches and other birds eat the seeds.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q6160625 baldwinii Flora of the Western United States Flora of Arkansas