Asteraceae: Eutrochium maculatum
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Family Name
Asteraceae
Common Name
Spotted joe-pye weed
Native American Name
Lakota: waȟčá pȟepȟéla
Description
Eutrochium maculatum is a perennial herb growing from 40 to 200 cm tall. The stems are variously purple spotted to completely purple. The simple leaves are in whorled in groups of 4 or 5, narrowly lanceolate to lance-ovate, usually with a short petiole. The blades are 6-15 cm long and 2-8 cm wide, with toothed margins. The inflorescence is a flat-topped cluster of heads with a 6-9 mm involucre of overlapping bracts. Each head contains 8-22 rose to purple disc flowers. Fruit are 5-sided achenes with a pappus of bristles. Spotted joe-pye weed blooms from July into September and is found in marshes, fens, swamps, ditches, and wet fields in eastern and western South Dakota.
Horticulture Notes
Seed Collection: Collect seed in late summer or early fall.
Germination: Fall or spring sow, seeds have some dormancy and spring planting is improved by a 30-day cold treatment.
Vegetative Propagation: Division or stem cuttings taken in the spring.
Soils: Well-drained
Light: Full sun
Water: Moist
Additional Notes
Spotted joe-pye weed have attractive stems that can be almost the same color as the rose-colored flowers that bloom for many weeks in July and August. These plants attract dozens of species of butterflies and honeybees.