North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Genus:
Family:

Conoclinium coelestinum

Conoclinium coelestinum (L.) DC.

blue mistflower, mistflower

Synonym(s): Eupatorium coelestinum
Cultivar(s): Wayside Variety

Conoclinium coelestinum (Blue Mistflower)

Image ID: 13726
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: COCO13
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Conoclinium coelestinum
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-01-04

CULTIVAR INDEX

Cult_id	Cultivar_name	Action
1290	Wayside Variety	View

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: CONOC4
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Conoclinium
GENUS AUTHORITY: DC.
GENUS COMMON: Thoroughwort
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of 4 species, of e. and c. North America extending into Mexico.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Patterson & Nesom in FNA (2006c); Schmidt & Schilling (2000).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: ASTERA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Asteraceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Dumortier 1822 or COMPOSITAE Giseke 1792
FAMILY COMMON: Aster Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 1500-1700 genera and 20,000-25,000 species, shrubs, herbs, trees, and vines, cosmopolitan in distribution.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Cronquist (1980)=SE throughout family treatment.

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO: Erect, rhizomatous and colonial perennial of floodplain forests, moist to wet meadows, old fields and other moist to wet disturbed areas, especially ditches.
STEMS: Stems branched, sometimes tinged red, very hairy.
LEAVES: Leaves opposite, petiolate, oval to triangular, to 4 in. long, with 3 main veins from the base, thin, blunt-toothed and hairy or smooth.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Composite flowers (heads) at ends of short branches, making a nearly flat terminal cluster (to 4 in. wide); heads blue to lavender and fuzzy appearing, consisting of tiny tubular florets (about 1/4 in. long) with protruding style branches.
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 1-3 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Opposite
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Mixed
BLOOM TIME: Late July-November

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
						x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Blue to lavender

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
						x	x	x	x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Bottomlands, Disturbed
NATIVE RANGE: eastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Blue mistflower or wild ageratum, formerly in the Eupatorium genus, attracts many butterflies, long-tongued bees and skippers! It is found growing in woodland edges and roadsides throughout Central and eastern US. It spreads by rhizomes and is perfect for naturalizing large spaces. To control its spread, try planting it in drier soils. Blue mistflower occasionally blooms until November, providing color late into fall.

Bloom Table Text: Blue mistflower or wild ageratum, formerly in the Eupatorium genus, attracts many butterflies, long-tongued bees and skippers. It is found growing in woodland edges and roadsides throughout Central and Eastern US. It spreads by rhizomes and is perfect for naturalizing large spaces. To control its spread, try planting it in drier soils. Blue mistflower occasionally blooms until November, providing color late into fall.

NCBG Location: Throughout NCBG Landscapes

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 5
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 10
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
1929	1986-1715			View
2175	1986-1986			View
2437	1986-2278			View
2737	1987-0222			View
3649	1991-0335			View
4312	1992-0468			View
5263	1995-0383			View
5489	1995-0612			View
6091	1995-1222			View
9344	2021-0011	2021-02-22		View

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
885	SOS	2016-11-18	Faucette	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
3064	1929	6	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
3065	1929	61	NCBG staff	1986-12-22	View
3066	1929	63	NCBG staff	1986-12-22	View
3067	1929	64	NCBG staff	1986-12-22	View
3068	1929	8	NCBG staff	1996-03-01	View
3748	2175	93	NCBG staff	2000-01-01	View
3749	2175	59	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
3750	2175	56	NCBG staff	1986-12-23	View
4143	2437	27	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
4144	2437	142	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
4560	2737	8	NCBG staff	1978-10-01	View
5950	3649	27	NCBG staff	1991-06-27	View
6640	4312	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
7717	5263	203	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
8003	5489	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
8741	6091	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12531	9344	220	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12532	9344	222	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: COCO13
USDA Common Name: Blue Mistflower
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (I?)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV), CAN (ON)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FAC				FAC	FACW		FACW	FAC

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Conoclinium coelestinum
COMMON NAME: Mistflower, Ageratum
SYNONYMY: [= FNA, Il, K2, Va, WH3; = Eupatorium coelestinum Linnaeus - C, F, G, RAB, SE, W, WV; = Conoclinum coelestinum - Pa, misspelling]
PHENOLOGY: Late Jul-Oct.
HABITAT: Moist to wet disturbed areas, especially ditches, probably more common than formerly.
COMMENTS: NJ west to IL, c. MO, se. KS, and OK, south to s. FL and c. TX; also in Cuba, and scattered farther north (as in NY, n. OH, and n. IN) probably as escapes from cultivation. See Wooten & Clewell (1971) for further discussion of this species.
RANGE MAP: Conoclinium coelestinum.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Asteraceae Dumortier 1822 or COMPOSITAE Giseke 1792 (Aster Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 1500-1700 genera and 20,000-25,000 species, shrubs, herbs, trees, and vines, cosmopolitan in distribution.
REFERENCE: Cronquist (1980)=SE throughout family treatment.

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Conoclinium DC. (Thoroughwort)
SUMMARY: A genus of 4 species, of e. and c. North America extending into Mexico.
REFERENCE: Patterson & Nesom in FNA (2006c); Schmidt & Schilling (2000).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Conoclinium coelestinum in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Conoclinium coelestinum in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Conoclinium coelestinum in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Conoclinium coelestinum in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Conoclinium coelestinum in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Conoclinium coelestinum