Blue Mistflower

Conoclinium coelestinum

Found in streambanks, moist to wet disturbed areas, especially ditches, probably more common than formerly. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

Keystone

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

Profile 100%

Height: 1.5–3 feet
Spread: 1.5–3 feet
Light: Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture: Usually moist

Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

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Conoclinium coelestinum — whole photograph — Cathy DeWitt · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Leaves: Deciduous
Bloom: July to October
Fruiting season: Fall

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Recorded in 94 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 3

Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 127 animals.

Common Grackle
Quiscalus quiscula
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Towhee
Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Wood-pewee
Contopus virens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Gadwall
Anas strepera
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Golden-winged Warbler
Vermivora chrysoptera
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Great Crested Flycatcher
Myiarchus crinitus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Hermit Thrush
Catharus guttatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Hooded Warbler
Wilsonia citrina
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Least Bittern
Ixobrychus exilis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Least Flycatcher
Empidonax minimus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Contopus cooperi
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Orchard Oriole
Icterus spurius
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ovenbird
Seiurus aurocapilla
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Melanerpes carolinus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Rough-legged Hawk
Buteo lagopus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ruddy Duck
Oxyura jamaicensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivacea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Snowy Owl
Bubo scandiacus
Birds. 1 shared habitat

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

40CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Eupatorium

Agonopterix pulvipennellaGoldenrod Leaffolder, Featherduster Agonopterix
Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
Carmenta bassiformisEupatorium Borer Moth, Ironweed Clearwing Moth
Carmenta pyralidiformisBoneset Borer Moth
Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure
Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
Cisseps fulvicollisYellow-Collared Scape Moth
Condica vecorsDusky Groundling
Dichomeris setosellaHairy Dichomeris

Show all 40

Digrammia continuataCurve-Lined Angle
Dysodia oculatanaEyed Thyris
Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
Feltia subgothicaSubgothic Dart
Feltia tricosaConfused Dart, Tricose Dart
Haploa clymeneClymene Moth
Leucospilapteryx venustellaSnakeroot Leafminer
Oedemasia concinnaRed-Humped Caterpillar, Red-Humped Appleworm
Oidaematophorus eupatoriiEupatorium Plume Moth
Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
Ostrinia obumbratalisSmartweed Borer
Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
Papaipema eupatoriiJoe-Pye Weed Borer, Eupatorium Borer Moth
Papaipema harrisiiHeracleum Stem Borer Moth, Cow Parsnip Borer
Perigea xanthioidesRed Groundling
Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
Schinia trifasciaThree-Lined Flower Moth
Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
Tornos scolopacinariaDimorphic Gray
Agonopterix atrodorsella
Agonopterix eupatoriiella
Chionodes pseudofondella
Dichomeris washingtoniella
Dichrorampha leopardana
Niasoma metallicana

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

34BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Eupatorium

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

2Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Eupatorium

Colletes simulans
Megachile xylocopoides

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

1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Eupatorium

Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Flies 4

Ptilodexia abdominalis
Scepsis fulvicollis
Siphoplagia anomala
Stomoxys calcitrans

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Adult butterflies / moths 3

Anosia plexippus
Limochores taumas
Phyciodes tharos

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other wasps 1

Sphex nigricans

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Asteraceae
Hardiness: Zones 5a–10b
Flower color: Blue, pink or purple
Growth rate: Moderate
Growth habit: Single crown
Foliage color: Green
Fruit begins: Fall
Fruit ends: Fall

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

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “Late July to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Blue, pink or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit begins · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
Fruit ends · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Hardiness · “Zones 5a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
Height · “1.5–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Spread · “1.5–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Also known as

Eupatorium coelestinum; Mist Flower; thoroughwort

Conservation status

Virginia rank	S5
Global rank	G5
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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Blue Mistflower

At a glance

Natural habitats

Also found with this plant

Who uses this plant?

Plant details

Conservation status

Will it fit your yard?

Sources

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