Distribution | There are several collections from NC, but most are from cultivated plants, such as the NC State College greenhouse, a home address in Raleigh, "in cult" at Biltmore, etc. Two may represent escapees: Forsyth County, Winston-Salem, 1 Oct 1940, P. Schallert s.n. (CM, no image or other data); and Surry County, roadside, "escapee?", 1 Sept 2000, no collector sn (SC). The CM record is skeletal, so a look at the specimen label would help a great deal. FNA and BONAP map it for NC, without naming counties.
Native of Mexico and C.A.; in N.A. MA, CT, NC to FL and TX; OH. | |
Identification | Floss-flower, often just called Ageratum in the horticulture trade, is a familiar garden plant, but it seldom escapes. It looks like a Eupatorium, but the heads are lavender-blue. It is similar to Conoclinium coelestinum, but that native plant grows from long slender rhizomes (vs. fibrous roots) and the involucres (flower head bracts) are non-glandular (vs. glandular-pubescent in the non-native Ageratum). | |