Biology:Verbesina alternifolia

From HandWiki
Short description: Species of flowering plant

Verbesina alternifolia
Verbesina alternifolia0.jpg
Wingstem in cultivation

Secure (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Verbesina
Species:
V. alternifolia
Binomial name
Verbesina alternifolia
Britton ex Kearney (L.)
Synonyms
  • Dryand. ex Aiton L.
  • (L.) Britton Actinomeris alternifolia
  • Coreopsis alternifolia (L.) DC
  • Coreopsis procera Ridan alternifolia

Verbesina alternifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is commonly known as wingstem[2] or yellow ironweed.[3] It is native to North America.[2]

The name "wingstem" refers to the petioles of the leaves, which run down the stem and form raised ridges or "wings" along it.[4] The plant grows 3-8 feet tall with an unbranched stem until reaching the inflorescence at the very top.[5] Its yellow flower heads, which bloom in late summer through early fall, are 1-2 inches wide and consist of up to 10 bright yellow ray florets that are angled downward, each bearing a notch at the end, as well as a spherical cluster of tubular yellow disk florets in the center.[6]

Ecology

This plant grows in fertile, moist low-lying areas, such as near creeks and in open bottomland woods, usually not far from a body of water or woodland.[5][7] The tubular disk florets in the center of every flower head attract long-tongued bees such as bumblebees and butterflies, while being less attractive to shorter-tongued insects like wasps and flies.[5]

Verbesina alternifolia is sometimes considered weedy.[8] It thrives and competes well in both disturbed and less disturbed habitats, and often forms colonies by spreading vegetatively from rhizomes.

The seeds are attractive food for birds.[9] The foliage is not preferred food by deer and other herbivores.[5][10]

As host plant

It is a larval host to the gold moth (Basilodes pepita) and the silvery checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis).[11]

References

  1. NatureServe (1 September 2023). "Verbesina alternifolia". Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.159242/Verbesina_alternifolia. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Verbesina alternifolia". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=VEAL. Retrieved 2018-04-07. 
  3. "Verbesina alternifolia - Plant Finder". Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a753. 
  4. "Us Wildflower- Wingstem, Yellow Ironweed". https://uswildflowers.com/detail.php?SName=Verbesina%20alternifolia. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Hilty, John (2016). "Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia)". http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/savanna/plants/wingstem.htm. 
  6. "Know Your Natives- Yellow wingstem". Arkansas Native Plant Society. 13 November 2015. https://anps.org/2015/11/13/know-your-natives-yellow-wingstem/. 
  7. Carter, Richard; Morris, M. Wayne; Bryson, Charles T. (1990). "Some Rare or Otherwise Interesting Vascular Plants from the Delta Region of Mississippi". Castanea 55 (1): 43. 
  8. "Verbesina alternifolia". https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a753. 
  9. "Verbesina alternifolia". https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a753. 
  10. "Know Your Natives- Yellow wingstem". Arkansas Native Plant Society. 13 November 2015. https://anps.org/2015/11/13/know-your-natives-yellow-wingstem/. 
  11. The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
Close-up of mature Verbesina alternifolia flower heads

Wikidata ☰ Q11933237 entry