Ironweed

Vernonia dissimilis Gleason, Bull. N. Y. Bot Gard. 4: 224. 1906.
Stems stout, erect, 8-11 dm. high, glabrous above, pubescent or short-hirsute below;
leaf-blades firm, sessile, narrowly lanceolate, 10-15 cm. long, 1-2 cm. wide, acuminate at each
end, sharply serrate, flat, scabrous above, especially near the margin, sparsely pubescent
beneath, pinnately veined with conspicuous lateral veinlets; inflorescence dense, flattened;
heads 21-flowered, sessile or short-peduncled ; involucre eampanulate, 4 mm. high; scales
closely imbricate in few series, appressed, dark-red, the inner ovate-lanceolate, strongly
arachnoid-ciliate, puberulent on the back, obtuse or rounded, the outer subacute to sharply
acute; achenes pubescent on the ribs, somewhat resinous in the furrows, 2.5 mm. long; pappus
bright-purple, the bristles 6 mm. long, the scales 0.5-0.7 mm. long.
Type locality: Auburn, Alabama. Distribution: Alabama.