This attractive wildflower is native to NC, SC and Georgia. It does well in dry areas of the Piedmont and coastal plains of North Carolina. Stemless ironweed forms a basal rosette of leaves with 36-42” tall stems rising from its center. Intense purple-fushia flowers appear from late June through August and are highly attractive to bees. Native bees nest in the dead, hollow stems, so gardeners are encouraged to cut back dead stems to 12 to 24 inches and allow them to remain standing until they disintegrate on their own. Read more about best practices for stem-nesting bees in this NC Extension publication . It performs well at the edge of a woods in well-drained to dry, sandy soils and in meadows and woodland landscapes
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 6 in. - 4 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate; Rosulate
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Oblong
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Leaves mostly basal with blades oblong-elliptic, 4-8 inches long, irregularly toothed and hairy. A few alternate stem leaves are elliptical and much smaller.
Flower color
Pink; Purple/Lavender
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Corymb; Head
Flower shape
Tubular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
1/2 inch wide frilly flower heads in loose corymbs are at the tips of spreading-ascending branches with 30-40 purple-magenta tubular flowers with 5 spreading narrow lobes. Bracts surround each head. Blooms June to Aug.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Fruit is a cluster of rusty clustered achenes. Displays from August to October.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Green straight stem
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
SE North America
Distribution
NC, SC, GA
Wildlife value
Birds enjoy the fruits, hummingbirds and butterflies the nectar. Members of the genus Vernonia support the following specialized bee: Melissodes (Eumelissodes) denticulatus. Dead stems are used by stem-nesting bees.