Verbesina alternifolia – Wingstem – 1-Quart

Might you be looking to support pollinators and birds and have a woodland edge or meadow where you wouldn’t mind a somewhat weedy wildflower? Well, we have just the plant for you. This tall, somewhat coarse, ragged wildflower from midwestern prairies and woodland edges has been spreading into New York, probably assisted by beekeepers who know the plant as “Golden Honey Plant.” Flowers sometimes appear rayless with only disk flowers, hence an alternative common name of Yellow Ironweed. Seeds are an important food source for birds. Wingstem is also a host plant for Chlosyne nycteis (Silvery Checkerspot butterfly), Celastrina neglecta (Summer Azure butterfly), and Basilodes pepita (Gold Moth).