Vernonia gigantea (also known as giant ironweed,[ Common names] or ironweed
Description
They are described as tall,
or .
The
Plant stem is either green or purplish green coloured, and can be either hairy or pubescent. The leaves are up to long and across, and are ovate. Their leaves could also be lanceolate-oblong or elliptically shaped, with serrated margins. The leaves' upper surface is hairless and is dark green in colour. The leaves' bases may have a petiole or be sessile.
The flowers open from July to September and are purple in colour. They can be found growing in moist
along roadsides, and are common in
and open
.
The seeds are wind-dispersed. The plant is self-incompatible and exhibits substantial ecotypic variation, a factor which may explain their broad geographic distribution.
Ecology
V. gigantea is a larval host to the ironweed borer moth (
Papaipema cerussata) and the red groundling moth (
Perigea xanthioides).
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