''Vernonia noveboracensis'', the New York ironweed or vein-leaf hawkweed, is a

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

in the 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 the

eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

, from Florida to Massachusetts and west to Tennessee, Alabama, and West Virginia and to southern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Description

''Vernonia noveboracensis'' is a

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent wood, woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennial plant, perennials, and nearly all Annual plant, annuals and Biennial plant, biennials. Definition ...

with alternate, simple leaves, on stiff, greenish purple stems. The flowers are purple, borne in summer and fall. This ironweed is an herbaceous perennial that spreads by seeds and runners. Ironweed can be an aggressive weed in moist soils.

References

noveboracensis Flora of the Eastern United States {{Asteraceae-stub