Missouri Ironweed

Vernonia missurica

native · Central Texas

Missouri Ironweed is a wildflower native to Central Texas that grows 2–6 ft tall and 2 ft wide. It wants full sun and medium water, and handles clay soil. Blooms purple in late summer. Good for bees, birds and butterflies.

Wet ground only. Usually found in wetlands and creek bottoms. It wants reliably moist ground and struggles in a dry upland bed.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

4 sources

Type: Wildflower
Sun: Full sun (6–8 hrs of direct sun)
Water: Medium
Height: 2–6 ft
Spread: 2 ft
Bloom: Late Summer · purple
Foliage: Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil: Takes clay · recorded on clay, loam, moist, poor drainage, sand
Wildlife: Supports bees, birds and butterflies

Where it grows

Recorded in this EPA Level IV ecoregion in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Floodplains and Low Terraces

2 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.