Vernonia fasciculata Prairie Ironweed Seed & Potted Plant
(ver-NON-ee-ah   fas-sik-yoo-LAH-tuh)
Easyliving Native Perennial Wildflowers
Native Wild Flower Seed & Potted Plants for Home Landscaping & Prairie Restoration

  Vernonia fasciculata Prairie Ironweed 
photo by cj   Vernonia Ironweed additional picture  

For other flowers visit the wildflower seed list , to order copy the orderform or 
email questions, comments, and orders to john@easywildflowers.com  
  Vernonia fasciculata Prairie Ironweed potted plants, $5 each plus UPS shipping
Please contact us by email with your address for shipping costs on potted plants
We accept payment by check, money order, & through paypal  

Vernonia = Named for William Vernon, 17th century English botanist
fasciculata = banded or bundled

Seed shipping chart at bottom of page 
Vernonia fasciculata Prairie Ironweed's vivid purple flowers are effective when planted with the yellow flowers of Goldenrod in late summer and fall. They are stunning as cut flowers but the leaves should be discarded before arranging.  It is a member of the Aster family, with numerous 1/2 inch flower heads in rounded or flat topped branching clusters and a favorite nectar source for butterflies.  Vernonia fasciculata Prairie Ironweed plants are avoided by cattle and are often abundant in old fields and pastures.  Plant Ironweed in humus rich soil in full sun at the back of a perennial garden on naturalize in a meadow or prairie.  

Prairie Ironweed is also known as Smooth Ironweed and Common ironweed
Native Vernonia fasciculata Prairie Ironweed plants occur naturally in prairies, glades, meadows, pastures, and along roadsides from North Dakota and Kansas South to Louisiana and East to New York. 
 Asteraceae (Aster family)

Please contact us by email with your address for shipping charges & availability on Vernonia Ironweed potted plants

We accept payment by check, money order, and through Paypal

The minimum seed order amount is $10, this can be a combination of different seeds.

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Easyliving Wildflowers
PO Box  522
Willow Springs,  Mo.  65793
phone-fax 417-469-2611 

Vernonia fasciculata Prairie Ironweed Ironweed Plant distribution map complements of USDA, NRCS. 2001. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.1
  (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

 Prairie ironweed prefers full sun and moist fertile soil but will grow in partial sun and slightly moister or drier conditions. This plant can withstand occasional flooding for short periods of time. The foliage is not grazed by cattle or bothered by pests or disease to any significant extent.

Vernonia fasciculata is a native perennial unbranched plant 2 to 4 feet tall. The central stem is round, hairless, and white, light green, or reddish purple. The alternate leaves are up to 5" long and ½" across. They are narrowly lanceolate, narrowly ovate, or linear. Their margins are serrated, while the upper and lower leaf surfaces are hairless. The lower leaf surface also has a prominent central vein, and black dots may be present. The leaves are sessile against the stem, or they have short petioles. The central stem terminates in a flat-topped cluster of magenta compound flowers (i.e., a corymb). This flower cluster is quite dense, rather than loose and spreading. The flowering stalks may be slightly pubescent. A compound flower consists of 15-30 disk florets with a short cylinder of green bracts underneath. These bracts are appressed together like fish scales, and they are often slightly ciliate. The cylinder of bracts spans about 1/5" across. A disk floret is magenta, with 5 spreading lobes and a prominent divided style. The blooming period occurs from late summer to early fall, and lasts about a month. There is no noticeable floral scent. The flowers are replaced by achenes that have a pappus of hair-like scales. These achenes can be blown several feet from the mother plant by gusts of wind. The root system is spreading and fibrous.

Prairie Ironweed is fairly common in the Midwest and Eastern US in prairies, riverbottom prairies, marshes, sloughs along railroads, and edges of fields. Prairie Ironweed is found in wetland habitats to a greater extent than other species of Ironweeds.

The flowers attract long-tongued bees, butterflies, and skippers primarily. Other visitors include bee flies and Halictid bees. These insects seek nectar, although bees also collect pollen. Among the long-tongued bees, are such visitors as bumblebees, Epeoline cuckoo bees, Miner bees, and large Leaf-Cutting bees. An oligolectic bee of Ironweeds is Melissodes vernoniae. The caterpillars of several moths feed on Ironweed, including Grammia parthenice (Parthenice Tiger Moth) and Perigea xanthioides (Red Groundling). Caterpillars that bore into the roots or stems of Ironweed include Papaipema cerussata (Ironweed Borer Moth), Carmenta bassiformis (Eupatorium Borer Moth), and some Polygrammodes spp. (Pyralid Moths). The bitter foliage of Ironweed deters consumption by mamamalian herbivores – it is known as an 'increaser' because it is one of the last plants to be eaten in overgrazed pastures.

Additional common names for Prairie Ironweed are Smooth Ironweed and Common Ironweed. Prairie Ironweed is one of the smaller Ironweeds with a compact inflorescence and smooth hairless leaves. Other Ironweed species have hairy stems or leaves. An exception is Vernonia gigantea (Tall Ironweed), which has hairless leaves and stems upon occasion. However, Tall Ironweed has a spreading inflorescence, and it is usually a taller plant (as the name implies). The larger leaves of Tall Ironweed exceed ½" across, while the leaves of Smooth Ironweed are ½" or less. Some authorities state that Smooth Ironweed has black dots on the undersides of the leaves, but this is not always true. The species in this genus are occasionally difficult to identify because they can hybridize with each other.