Field Weeds: Iron Weed

Iron weed, any of several purple-flowered plants in the Vernonia genus, are among our most beautiful wild flowers, but a sure sign that you are in the wrong area for terrier work. The reason: Iron weed is almost always found in very wet areas -- areas that even if dry right at that moment, are wet often enough to be places where no self-respecting den-dwelling animal will set up shop.

Iron weed blooms in July and August, and often has large numbers of butterflies flitting about from flower to flower. One of the most common butterflies associated with ironweed is the American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) for whom it serves as a larval host.

In late fall, the stems of this plant will get rust color -- the source of the name. The plant itself stands waist to shoulder height and has leaves very much like a Viburnum, another plant often called a "butterfly bush".
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