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Giant Ironweed

Vernonia gigantea

Found in pastures, bottomlands, streamsides, moist thickets, roadsides, disturbed wet or dry sands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

75
Strong

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
3–12 feet
Spread
3–6 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 4.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 5 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
August to October
Fruiting season
August to November

Recorded in 59 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 54 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

24CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Vernonia

  • Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
  • Apantesis partheniceParthenice Tiger Moth
  • Archips rileyanaSouthern Ugly-Nest Caterpillar Moth
  • Carmenta bassiformisEupatorium Borer Moth, Ironweed Clearwing Moth
  • Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
  • Dichomeris setosellaHairy Dichomeris
  • Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Hellinsia paleaceusOne-Spotted Plume Moth
  • Papaipema baptisiaeWild Indigo Borer, Indigo Stem Borer
Show all 24
  • Papaipema cerussataIronweed Borer Moth
  • Perigea xanthioidesRed Groundling
  • Phlogophora irisOlive Angle Shades
  • Platynota idaeusalisTufted Apple-Bud Moth
  • Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
  • Polygrammodes flavidalisIronweed Root Moth, Vernonia Root-Borer
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
  • Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
  • Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
  • Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
  • Paralobesia sambuci
  • Paralobesia vernoniana
  • Thyraylia bunteana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
46BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Vernonia

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
9Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Vernonia

  • Andrena placata
  • Melissodes denticulatus
  • Melissodes druriellus
  • Melissodes microstictus
  • Melissodes niveus
  • Melissodes subillatus
  • Melissodes trinodis
  • Melissodes vernoniae
  • Perdita octomaculata
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–8b
Soil pH
Acidic to alkaline
Flower color
Purple
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
November

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources