Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
New York Ironweed
One damp, cloudy day in June of 2006, I came across the vivid purple blossoms of this native plant beautifying a glade in the George Washington National Forest.
It was new to me, but I have since learned that it is found from Massachusetts south to Florida and west to the Ohio Valley, flourishing along the banks of streams and other moist, wooded environments.
Although all the wildflower blossoms contribute to the sublime beauty of this scene, it was these vibrant purple blossoms that caught my eye.
Often growing with two other species, V. altissima and V. glauca, it bears flowers from May to October, and depending on the growing conditions can reach to more than nine feet in height.
The common name is derived from the tendency of the purple blossoms to turn a rusty brown shortly after reaching full bloom.
The origin of the botanical name is interesting, too. The prefix, Vernonia, is a tribute to the 17th century English botanist, William Vernon, who collected and identified plants in Maryland and along the eastern seaboard.
The suffix, noveboracensis is a coining of scientific Latin that is said to mean "of New York."
It seems to have caught on: It was used by ornithologists in the naming of the Northern Waterthrush, (Seirus noveboracensis)—or maybe the botanists borrowed the name from the ornithologists....?
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