Baldwin's or Western Ironweed

The genus name, Vernonia, was named for William Vernon, an English botanist traveling and collecting plants in Maryland during 1698. The specific epithet (baldwinii) honors William Baldwin who was an American physician and botanist credited with the first collection of the plant.

Vernonia baldwinii is in the Asteraceae family.

Bright, purplish flower heads occur in loose clusters toward the top of the plant, with each flower head being composed of 15-30 florets. Individual florets have 5 spreading lobes. The style is prominently exerted beyond the corolla so that the white pollen is readily available to pollinating insects. There are 5 stamens with fused anthers. The anthers form an attractive ring-like structure at the tip of each flower.

The bracts (at the base of each flower) occur in overlapping layers. The tips of the bracts curl outward (recurved).

After flowering, seeds mature and fall from the flower to be scattered by the wind.

Vernonia baldwinii is a perennial plant growing to about 4-5 feet. Its unbranched stem is covered with short, white hairs. The leaves are alternate and sessile (or with short petioles). Larger leaves have serrate margins. The leaf upper surface is somewhat rough, with the underside having short, whitish hairs.

This plant spreads through rhizomes, hence it is often found in small colonies. Ironweeds can and do hybridize in nature. Vernonia baldwinii is known to hybridize with Vernonia gigantea and Vernonia missourica. All three are native to Arkansas and Missouri and often share the same habitats.

Vernonia baldwinii is a terrific plant for a pollinator garden as a wide range of pollinators are attracted to its flowers. Here's a sampling.

Bees

Butterflies & Skippers

Hummingbird

Vernonia baldwinii is an adaptable plant, found in a wild range of habitats. It inhabits prairies, glades, open woodlands, woodland edges, forest openings, savannas, as well as old fields and railroads- just about any native habitat excluding wetlands! It handles our dry, rocky soil as well as clay. It's a lovely plant for the back of a garden with shorter plants blooming in the foreground. Keep in mind that very rich soil in a garden bed can cause it to flop.

Vernonia baldwinii is native to the Eastern United States, west to Colorado and North to South Dakota. Natureserve lists it as Apparently Secure in Iowa, Imperiled in Colorado and Possibly Extirpated in Minnesota. All other states within its range show No Status Ranking.

In Arkansas it has a Conservation Value of 6 (in the group of 4-7). This means "Typically matrix taxa in intact, stable habitats, with some limited ability to respond to destabilizing forces and repopulate areas from which they have been extirpated."

If deer and rabbits are a problem in your garden, this is a great plant to add. It has a bitter taste that causes them to avoid it. Additionally, livestock dislike its taste as well, hence, it's often seen blooming in pastures where it can become a bit weedy.