| Author | (L.) Willdenow | |
| Distribution | Almost restricted to the Piedmont; rare in the mountains and western/central parts of the Coastal Plain.
NJ and PA, south to FL, AL, and MS. | |
| Abundance | Frequent to common in the Piedmont, the primary upland species of ironweed in that province. Rare in the western parts of the Coastal Plain (absent from Sandhills proper), and very rare in the Mountains (Haywood and Buncombe Counties only?). The State Rank should be moved to S5. | |
| Habitat | Dry to mesic, deciduous and pine-deciduous woodlands, edges and openings in these forests, slopes along creeks, roadside banks. This is an upland species; Weakley's (2018) habitat listing of "Pastures, bottomlands, streamsides" is incorrect and appears to be a copying error, as that is the exact same wording for the species above (V. gigantea) and below (V. noveboracensis) it in his reference. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting late June-September. | |
| Identification | The bicolored leaves -- dark green above and pale gray or whitish beneath -- should clinch identification when compared with other ironweeds. Plants grow 2-3 feet tall, the leaves are elliptical and tapered to both ends, except for the lower ones, which are much wider towards the tip. As with other ironweeds, the inflorescence consists of a number of ascending branches in the upper portions, with the heads topping each branch consisting of rose-purple ray flowers only -- forming a rather flat-topped and showy flower cluster. This species does not tend to grow in colonies or dense stands, mostly found as singles or scattered individuals. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
| |
| Other Common Name(s) | Appalachian Ironweed, Upland Ironweed | |
| State Rank | S4 [S5] | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
