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Vernonia blodgettii
Florida Ironweed
Blodgett's Ironweed
Florida native
An occasional wildflower of flatwoods, rock pinelands and prairie margins of south Florida extending as far north as Sarasota and DeSoto Counties on the west side of the peninsula, Indian River County on the east coast and remaining south of Lake Okeechobee inland. The range includes the northern Bahamas.
The leaves of Florida ironweed are mostly cauline, linear, less than 1 cm (0.4 in.) wide and typically 5-10 cm (2-4 in.) long with the upper surface smooth or nearly smooth. The flower heads may be few to numerous, spreading open with maturity. The disk flowers are a bright pinkish lavendar. The pappus is light yellow.
This species was named by John Kunkel Small (1869-1938) in honor of botanist John Loomis Blodgett (1809-1853) for the latter's contributions to the knowledge of south Florida botany.
Vernonia blodgettii is a member of the Asteraceae - Aster family.
Other species of the Vernonia genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Vernonia gigantea - GIANT IRONWEED
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Aug 07, 2016
