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Broadleaf Ironweed

Vernonia glauca

Found in pastures, bottomlands, streamsides, roadsides, dry woods and slopes, powerlines and cleared forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

76
Strong

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

Profile 100%

Height
3–5 feet
Spread
2–4 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 3 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 11 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
Summer and fall
Fruiting season
August to October

Recorded in 1 West Virginia county.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 5

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.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

27CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Vernonia

  • Acleris subnivanaBent-Wing Acleris, Common Acleris
  • 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
Show all 27
  • Lophocampa maculataSpotted Tussock Moth, Yellow-Spotted Tiger Moth
  • Papaipema baptisiaeWild Indigo Borer, Indigo Stem Borer
  • Papaipema cerussataIronweed Borer Moth
  • Perigea xanthioidesRed Groundling
  • Phlogophora irisOlive Angle Shades
  • Phragmatobia fuliginosaRuby Tiger Moth
  • 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
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
  • Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
  • Dichomeris washingtoniella
  • 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 3a–8b
Soil pH
Acidic to alkaline
Flower color
Purple
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
October
Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS1
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources