''Vernonia fasciculata'', the smooth ironweed or common ironweed, or prairie ironweed is a species of
perennial plant
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 ...
from family
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 ...
. It is native to Manitoba in Canada and the north-central U.S.A.
''Vernonia fasciculata'' inhabits areas with moist soils and prairies. It flowers in July to September.
Description
''Vernonia fasciculata'' is a herbaceous perennial that grows tall with unbranched stems, which end in an inflorescences with magenta flowers arranged in a dense
corymb
Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...
.
Cultivation
''V. fasciculata'' is winter hardy in USDA zones 4-9, it is planted in full sun and used in rain gardens and as a naturalized plant because of its showy flower display, it is deer tolerant and adaptable to wet soils.
References
fasciculata
{{Cichorioideae-stub