Wingstem

A lovely expanse of Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia), a member of the Asteraceae or Aster family.

Wingstem can easily grow to 8 feet tall. A plant that is native to eastern and central North America.

The bloom is a composite flower, each looks like a single flower but consists of a bunch of small individual flowers – disk flowers and ray flowers. The petals you see are actually ray flowers and in the center are disk flowers. The ray flowers fascinate me with their double-curlycue stigmas which are the surfaces that capture pollen.

Wingstems attract many pollinators – bees, butterflies, skippers, wasps, and flies. The butterfly above, is a Eastern Tailed Blue (Cupido comyntas) that has had a rough time in its 3 to 6 day life span.

What an intriguing bunch of blooms and OH! That brilliant yellow! Absolutely gorgeous!

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.