Vernonia lettermannii ‘Iron Butterfly’ – Narrowleaf Ironweed

A rare find! This ironweed is small in stature but has elegant foliage much like the popular Hubricht’s Bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii). Restricted to a narrow range in the Ouachita Mountains of western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, it inhabits riparian (streamside) corridors and rocky stream bottoms. The flowers are not as showy as some other ironweeds but are still attractive to butterflies. ‘Iron Butterfly’ was selected at the University of Georgia for a more compact, less floppy habit. Narrowleaf Ironweed is a good rain garden plant because it can tolerate both occasional inundation and dry soils.