Vernonia gigantea

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Compositae

The largest family of flowering plants , the Compositae (Asteraceae), comprising about 1,100 genera and more than 20,000 species and characterized by many small flowers arranged in a head looking like a single flower and subtended by an involucre of bracts. A head may consist of both ray flowers and disk flowers, as in the sunflower, of disk flowers only, as in the burdock, or of ray flowers only, as in the dandelion.

Genus Vernonia

Perennials, 2-20(-30+) dm (rhizomatous or not) . Leaves usually mostly cauline (rarely mostly basal or basal and cauline) ; sessile or petiolate ; blades ovate , elliptic , lanceolate, oblanceolate , spatulate , linear , or filiform , bases usually ± cuneate (rounded-truncate in V. pulchella), margins usually toothed (rarely entire), apices acute to attenuate, abaxial faces usually ± scabrellous to strigillose or tomentose to pannose , sometimes glabrate or glabrous , usually resin-gland-dotted (sometimes ± pitted ), adaxial faces ± scabrellous or glabrate, sometimes resin-gland-dotted (rarely pitted) . Heads discoid , ± pedunculate , not subtended by foliaceous bracts, (6-) 40-100+ in ± corymbiform to paniculiform arrays (6-) 10-25+ cm diam. Involucres ± campanulate to obconic or hemispheric , 3-8(-11+) mm diam. Phyllaries 18-70+ in 4-7+ series, the outer ovate to lanceolate or subulate , inner ± lanceolate to oblong , all ± chartaceous , margins entire, often ciliolate , tips rounded (then sometimes apiculate ), or acuminate, subulate, or filiform, faces glabrous or sparsely strigillose to tomentose, sometimes ± gland-dotted. Florets 9-30(-65+) ; corollas usually purplish or pink (rarely white), tubes longer than funnelform throats , lobes 5, lance-linear , ± equal. Cypselae ± columnar , sometimes arcuate , 8-10-ribbed, glabrous or ± strigillose to hirtellous, often resin-gland-dotted; pappi persistent , of 20-30+ outer, erose to subulate scales or bristles plus 20-40+ inner, longer, subulate to setiform scales or bristles. x = 17.

Species 20 or so: mainly c, e North America, n Mexico, 2-3 species in South America.

The circumscription of Vernonia adopted here follows that of H. Robinson (1999) .

Vernonias hybridize ; almost every one of the species recognized here has been noted as sometimes hybridizing with one or more others. Putative hybrid plants are usually intermediate between parentals in some traits ; such plants may not "key" satisfactorily to any of the species treated here. Some putative hybrids have been named. Vernonia guadalupensis is "without much doubt a hybrid of V. baldwinii Torrey and V. lindheimeri Engelmann & Gray" (L. H. Shinners 1950) ; V. vulturina Shinners (known only from the type collection ) may be a product of V. baldwinii × V. marginata; V. ×georgiana Bartlett may refer to V. acaulis × V. angustifolia. Additional putative hybrids (S. B . Jones 1964) are V. ×concinna Gleason (V. ovalifolia × V. angustifolia), V. ×dissimilis Gleason (V. altissima × V. angustifolia), and V. ×recurva Gleason (V. pulchella × V. angustifolia) .[1]

Physical Description

Habitat

Flood plains ; 10-300 m [2].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,092 meters (0 to 3,583 feet).[3]

Biology

Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 12-15" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.1 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a. (map)

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Chrysocoma gigantea Walter • Vernonia altissima Nuttall • Vernonia altissima var. taeniotricha S. F. Blake • Vernonia gigantea ovalifolia (Torrey & A. Gray) Urbatsch • Vernonia ovalifolia Torrey & A. Gray

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Comment: Data Providers: IPNI, Tropicos, LCR Editor. GCC LSID: urn :lsid:compositae.org:names:6B52E358-FEDD-429A-AF97-9AA09B44E3C0

Last scrutiny: 31-Oct-09

Similar Species

Members of the genus Vernonia

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 35 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

V. acaulis (Stemless Ironweed) · V. albicaulis (Santa Maria) · V. angustifolia mohrii (Tall Ironweed) · V. anthelmintica (Ironweed) · V. arkansana (Arkansas Ironweed) · V. baldwinii (Baldwin Ironweed) · V. blodgettii (Blodgetts Ironweed) · V. borinquensis (Puerto Rico Ironweed) · V. concinna (Ironweed) · V. dissimilis (Ironweed) · V. fasciculata corymbosa (Ironweed) · V. flaccidifolia (Tennessee Ironweed) · V. galamensis (Ironweed) · V. galamensis galamensis (Ironweed) · V. georgiana (Ironweed) · V. gigantea (Giant Ironweed) · V. gigantea gigantea (Giant Ironweed) · V. gigantea ovalifolia (Giant Ironweed) · V. glauca (Broadleaf Ironweed) · V. guadalupensis (Guadalupe Ironweed) · V. illinoensis (Illinois Ironweed) · V. larsenii (Larsen's Ironweed) · V. lettermannii (Gray Narrowleaf Ironweed) · V. lindheimeri (Woolly Ironweed) · V. marginata (Ironplant) · V. missurica (Missouri Ironweed) · V. noveboracensis (New York Ironweed) · V. noveboracensis 'Richard Simon' (New York Ironweed) · V. peralta (Ironweed) · V. proctori (Proctor's Ironweed) · V. pulchella (Georgia Ironweed) · V. sericea (Longshoot) · V. texana (Texas Ironweed) · V. vulturina (Ironweed) · V. x georgiana (Ironweed)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A preliminary list of the vascular flora of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania / by John A. Shaffer. Pittsburgh?: Carnegie Institute Museum?, 1901? url p. 60.
• An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British possessions: from Newfoundland to the parallel of the southern boundary of Virginia and from the Atlantic Ocean westward to the 102nd meridian / by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Hon. Addison Brown. New York: Scribner, 1913. url p. 352.
• Annotated list of the ferns and flowering plants of New York state, by Homer D. House. Albany, The University of the state of New York, 1924. url p. 678.
• Annual report of the Ohio State Academy of Science. Columbus: The Academy, 1893-1930. url p. 31, p. 42, p. 44.
• Atlas of the rare vascular plants of Ontario / Ottawa: Botany Division, National Museum of Natural Sciences = Division de la botanique, Musée national des sciences naturelles, 1982-1987. url .
• Botanical survey of Nebraska. Conducted by the Botanical Seminar. I-VII. Lincoln, Neb., 1892-1904. url , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .
• Britton, N. L. (ed.). North American flora. [New York]New York Botanical Garden. url p. 815, p. 89, p. 89, p. 964.
• Bulletin - New York State Museum. Albany: New York State Education Dept. url p. 935, p. 941, p. 945, p. 984.
• Bulletin of miscellaneous information /Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 1908 London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1900-1941. url p. 101, p. 11.
• Bulletin of the New York Botanical Garden. 4 1905-1907 Lancaster, Pa.: Published for the Garden by the New Era Printing Co., url p. 216, p. 218.
• Bulletin: report of Agricultural Experiment Station, Agricultural and Mechanical College, Auburn, Ala. Auburn, Ala.: The Station, [1888-1903] url p. 120.
• Contributions from the New York Botanical Garden. New York: The Garden, 1899- url , , p. 280.
• Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 6 1901 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1890- url p. 128, p. 163, p. 758.
• Cultures of Uredineae 1899-1921. n.p., n.d. url p. 211.
• Erigenia: journal of the Illinois Native Plant Society. Carbondale, Ill.: The Society, 1982- url p. 16, p. 18, p. 19.
• Flood tolerance of plant species in bottomland forests of the southeastern United States / 1992. url p. 106, p. 118, p. 119, p. 139, p. 199.
• Flora of West Virginia, by Charles Frederick Millspaugh and Lawrence William Nuttall. 1 1896 Chicago, 1896. url p. 229.
• Flora of the Florida Keys: being descriptions of the seed-plants growing naturally on the islands of the Florida reef from Virginia Key to Dry Tortugas / by John Kunkel Small. New York, J.K. Small, 1913. url p. 146.
• Flora of the southeastern United States; being descriptions of the seed-plants, ferns and fern-allies growing naturally in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and in Oklahom by John Kunkel Small. New York, The author, 1913. url p. 1159.
• Foraging selectivity in adult butterflies: morphological, ecological, and physiological factors affecting flower choice / by Peter Gregory May. 1985. url p. 67, p. 68, p. 70.
• Illinois River Bluffs area assessment / Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Scientific Research and Analysis, [and the] State Geological Survey Division. Springfield, Ill.: Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources, 1998- url p. 171, p. 186.
• International catalogue of scientific literature. LondonPublished for the International Council by the Royal Society of London1901-1920 url p. 525.
• Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science. Lexington, KY: The Academy, 1998- url p. 126, p. 131, p. 60.
• List of Pteridophyta and Spermatophyta growing without cultivation in northeastern North America. Prepared by a Committee of the Botanical Club, American Association for the Advancement of Science. New York, 1894. url p. 310.
• Manual of the flora of the northern states and Canada / by Nathaniel Lord Britton. New York: Holt, 1905. url p. 918.
• Memoirs of the American Entomological Society. Philadelphia, American Entomological Society, 1916- url p. 116, p. 124, p. 146.
• Michigan flora: a list of the fern and seed plants growing without cultivation / prepared by W.J. Beal. [Lansing, Mich.]: State Board of Agriculture: 1904. url , p. 128.
• Part I. The living flora of West Virginia, by C. F. Millspaugh. Part II. The fossil flora of West Virginia, by David White. Wheeling, Wheeling news litho. co., 1913 url p. 370.
• Phytogeography of Nebraska. 1. General survey by Roscoe Pound and Frederic E. Clements. Lincoln, Neb.Published by the Seminar1900 url p. 147, p. 307, p. 349, p. 412, p. 441, p. 60, p. 92.
• Phytologia. Bronx Park, New York, H.A. Gleason and H.N. Moldenke, url p. 272, p. 362, p. 423.
• Plant life of Alabama, an account of the distribution, modes of association, and adaptations of the flora of Alabama, together with a systematic catalogue of the plants growing in the state. By Charles Mohr. .. Montgomery, Ala., Brown printing co., 1901. url p. 128.
• Plant life of Alabama. An account of the distribution, modes of association, and adaptations of the flora of Alabama, together with a systematic catalogue of the plants growing in the state. Prepared in cooperationwith the Washington, Govt. Print. Off., 1901. url , .
• Plant life of Alabama: an account of the distribution, modes of association, and adaptations of the flora of Alabama, together with a systematic catalogue of the plants growing in the state / by Charles Mohr. Montgomery, Ala.: Brown Printing Co., 1901. url p. 758.
• Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. Washington, Biological Society of Washington url p. 25.
• Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science. Indianapolis, Ind.[s.n.] url p. 187, p. 187, p. 313.
• Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.] url p. 322.
• Publication. Field Columbian Museum. Chicago.: Field Columbian Museum, 1895-1909. url p. 229.
• Report of the Geological Survey of Ohio. Columbus, Nevins & Myers, state printers, 1873-93. url .
• Report of the State Botanist. Albany, N.Y.: University of the State of New York, 1898-1925. url p. 935, p. 941, p. 945, p. 984.
• Small, J. K. Flora of the southeastern United States;being descriptions of the seed-plants, ferns and fern-allies growing naturally in North Carolina, South Carolin, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and the Indian territory and in Oklahoma and Texas east of the one-hundredth meridian /by John Kunkel Small. .. 1903 New York: The author, 1903. url p. 1158.
• Sources of the Ohio flora, by A.D. Selby and J.W.T. Duvel. Columbus, 1899 url p. 50.
• Southern wild flowers and trees, together with shrubs, vines and various forms of growth found through the mountains, the middle district and the low country of the South, by Alice Lounsberry, with plates, vignettes and diagrams by Mrs. E. Rowan, with an introduction by C. D. Beadle. New York, Stokes[1901] url p. 495.
• The Ohio journal of science. Columbus, Ohio, The Ohio State University and the Ohio Academy of Science url p. 240.
• The Ottawa naturalist. Ottawa, Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. url p. 122.
• The flora of Tennessee and a philosophy of botany: respectfully dedicated to the citizens of Tennessee / by Augustin Gattinger. Nashville: Press of Gospel Advocate Pub. Co., 1901. url p. 162.
• The flora of the metamorphic region of Alabama / by F.S. Earle. Montgomery, Ala.: Brown Printing Co., 1902. url p. 120.
• The standard cyclopedia of horticulture; a discussion, for the amateur, and the professional and commercial grower, of the kinds, characteristics and methods of cultivation of the species of plants grown in the regions of the United States a Illustrated with colored plates, four thousand engravings in the text, and ninety-six full-page cuts. New York, Macmillan, 1919 [c1914] url p. 3448.
• Transactions of the Kentucky Academy of Science. [Lexington, Ky.]Kentucky Academy of Science, 1923-1997. url p. 145, p. 180, p. 45, p. 49.
• Tulane studies in zoology and botany. 24 1983 New Orleans: Tulane University, [1968- url p. 129.
• Gleason, H. A. 1922b. Vernonia. In: N. L. Britton et al., eds. 1905+. North American Flora. 47+ vols. New York. Vol. 33, pp. 5295.
• Jones, S. B. 1964. Taxonomy of the narrow-leaved Vernonia of the southeastern United States. Rhodora 66: 382401.
• Jones, S. B. and W. Z. Faust. 1978. Vernonia. In: N. L. Britton et al., eds. 1905+. North American Flora. 47+ volumes. New York. Ser. 2, part 10, pp. 180195.
• Shinners, L. H. 1950. Notes on Texas Compositae. IV. Field & Lab. 18: 2532.

Notes

Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 01, 2008:

• Canadian Museum of Nature, Canadian Museum of Nature Herbarium
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• US National Plant Germplasm System, United States National Plant Germplasm System Collection
• USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database
• University of Alabama Biodiversity and Systematics, Herbarium

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2659493
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Ast-2880
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13730610
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:258416-1
• GRIN Nomen Number: 104618
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 38634
• U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: VEALT VEGI
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 67683

Footnotes

1. John L. Strother "Vernonia". in Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 58, 67, 200, 201, 206, 207. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. "Vernonia gigantea". in Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 208, 212. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
3. Mean = 199.240 meters (653.675 feet), Standard Deviation = 150.350 based on 804 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

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