Conoclinium coelestinum

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Conoclinium coelestinum
Conoclinium coelestinum Gil.jpg
photo by Gil Nelson
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae ⁄ Compositae
Genus: Conoclinium
Species: C. coelestinum
Binomial name
Conoclinium coelestinum
(L.) DC.
CONO COEL dist.jpg
Natural range of Conoclinium coelestinum from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common names: Blue mistflower; Ageratum

Taxonomic notes

Synonyms: Eupatorium coelestinum Linnaeus

Varieties: none

Description

A description of Conoclinium coelestinum is provided in The Flora of North America.

Distribution

Distributed from New Jersey, west to Wisconsin and Kansas, and south to Texas and Florida.[1]

Ecology

Habitat

This species has been observed growing in dry woods, hammocks, along the edges of river banks, floodplains, and streams, slash pine-palmetto woodlands, and pine woodlands. It is also found in areas disturbed by humans such as roadsides, ditches, and clearings. Thriving in light from shade to full sun, this species grows in moist sands or drying loamy sands and has even been recorded to grow in water along edges of springs.[2]

Associated species include oak, beech, cypress, slash pine, saw palmetto, sweetgum, Cyrilla, Pinus taeda, Pinus echinata, Quercus nigra, Trichostema dichotomum, Helianthus angustifolius, Agaratina aromatica, Solidago odora, S. nemoralis, Pityopsis aspera var. adenolepis, Sorghastrum nutans, Andropogon virginicus var. virginicus, Chamaecrista fasciculata, Chamaecrista nictitans, Eupatorium hyssopifolium, Liatris graminifolia, Rubus cuneifolius,[2] and Hibiscus grandiflorus[3]

Phenology

C. coelestinum has been observed flowering from June through January with peak inflorescence in October.[2][4] Spreads by long, underground rhizomes.[5]

Seed dispersal

Seeds are dispersed by wind.[1]

Fire ecology

This species can grow in areas that are regularly burned.[2]

Use by animals

Caterpillars of the moths Haploa clymene, Phragmatobia lineata, Carmenta bassiformis, and Schinia trifascia eat on the foliage.[5] The bitter foliage defers mammalian herbivores.

Conservation and management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 [[1]]Floridata. Accessed: April 14, 2016
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2014. Collectors: Ed Keppner, Lisa Keppner, Loran C. Anderson, K. Craddock Burks, Gary R. Knight, Sidney McDaniel, Robert K. Godfrey, Richard S. Mitchell, Kurt E. Blum, J. P. Gillespie, R. Kral, C. Jackson, R. E. Perdue, Jr., James D. Ray, Jr., Olga Lakela, Gwynn W. Ramsey, Dale Samler, Ronald A. Gursell, P. L. Redfearn, Jr., Brenda Herring, Joyce Leiper, A. F. Clewell, W. G. D'Arcy, Robert L. Lazor, V. Sullivan, Bruce Hansen, JoAnn Hansen, D. C. Hunt, R. Komarek, Angela M. Reid, and K. M. Robertson. States and Counties: Florida: Bay, Brevard, Broward, Columbia, Dade, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Hamilton, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Martin, Okaloosa, Sumter, Suwannee, Wakulla, and Washington. Georgia: Grady and Thomas.
  3. Observation by Jake Antonia Heaton in Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade County, FL, June 12, 2016, posted to Florida Flora and Ecosystematics Facebook Group June 12, 2016.
  4. Nelson, G. PanFlora: Plant data for the eastern United States with emphasis on the Southeastern Coastal Plains, Florida, and the Florida Panhandle. www.gilnelson.com/PanFlora/ Accessed: 8 DEC 2016
  5. 5.0 5.1 [[2]]Illinois Wildflowers. Accessed: April 14, 2016