Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Verbesina alternifolia
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Wingstems and Crownbeards from Linda Chafin and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Yellow Crownbeard (V. occidentalis) is very similar to Wingstem but always has opposite leaves. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Verbesina alternifolia
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Actinomeris alternifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Verbesina alternifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-66-002:
Verbesina alternifolia FAMILY Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ridan alternifolia
COMMON NAME:
Common Wingstem
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_rial_001_lvd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_veal_005_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0305o_07
May Jackson County NC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm140711_734
July Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140711_736
July Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm0308p_20
August Jackson County NC
Roadside
A robust 3-9' leafy perennial, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
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JK Marlow jkm0308p_25
August Jackson County NC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0308q_12
August Jackson County NC
Roadside
)
Keith Bradley kab_v_alternifolia_2762
August Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Flowers have 2-10 drooping yellow rays, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
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Gill Newberry gn09_v_alternifolia_fls
September
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Gill Newberry gn09_v_alternifolia_pla
September
)
JK Marlow jkm120915_937
September Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm120915_941
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm120915_946
September Greenville County SC
Leaves alternate, with winged stalks that extend downward as wings on stem, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm200916_7232
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
The "hairy" serpentine tip of an exploring Kudzu vine gave me a start --
)
Roxanna Martin rlm91111_151
September Spartanburg County SC
Disk flowers yellow, loosely arranged, forming a sphere, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Roxanna Martin rlm91111_153
September Spartanburg County SC
)
Roxanna Martin rlm91111_172
September Spartanburg County SC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_v_alternifolia
September
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_v_alternifolia_2
September
)
Gill Newberry gn10_v_alternifolia
October
Anthers purple. Style bifurcate [2-forked]. Stigmas yellow, curling, per www.missouriplants.com
)
JK Marlow jkm0310d_34
October Jackson County NC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0310e_20
October Jackson County NC
Roadside
Winged petioles extend down the stem, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm121024_670
October Cherokee County NC
Murphy River Walk
Phyllaries in 1(-2) series, ~ spreading to reflexed, per Flora of North America.
COMPARE
involucral bracts of DYCs with ray and disc flowers
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JK Marlow jkm201005_7629
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow s031023_b
October Jackson County NC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0311h_35
November Jackson County NC
Roadside
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Verbesina alternifolia
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Verbesina alternifolia
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Actinomeris alternifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Verbesina alternifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-66-002:
Verbesina alternifolia
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ridan alternifolia
1602
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: alluvial forests, marshes, floodplain pastures, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: Yellow
Disc: Yellow
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers sterile
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Black
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p183
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p423
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p295
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p124
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p124
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p332
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p384
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p200
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