Pixel Wild
Tall Ironweed
Tall Ironweed
Vernonia gigantea
Plantae
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Perennial
Size
Large
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Temperate grassland
Range
North America
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Toxins
Status
Common

About

This tall perennial grows in damp meadows across eastern North America. Its deep purple flower clusters produce thousands of tiny, wind-dispersed seeds each autumn.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Asterales
Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Vernonia
Species
Vernonia gigantea