Florida Ironweed
Vernonia blodgettii
Found in pine rocklands, pine flatwoods. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
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At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 17 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 83 animals.
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Henslow's SparrowAmmodramus henslowii
- King RailRallus elegans
- Le Conte's SparrowAmmodramus leconteii
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Lesser YellowlegsTringa flavipes
- LimpkinAramus guarauna
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- Little GullHydrocoloeus minutus
- Long-billed CurlewNumenius americanus
- Long-billed DowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceus
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Mottled DuckAnas fulvigula
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Northern ShovelerAnas clypeata
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Painted BuntingPasserina ciris
Who uses this plant?
21CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Vernonia
- Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
- 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
- Perigea xanthioidesRed Groundling
Show all 21
- Platynota idaeusalisTufted Apple-Bud Moth
- Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
- Polygrammodes flavidalisIronweed Root Moth, Vernonia Root-Borer
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
- Paralobesia sambuci
- Paralobesia vernoniana
- Polygrammodes oxydalis
- Thyraylia bunteana
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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- 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
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























