Blue Mistflower

Here's a native wildflower I don't see very often, a Blue Mistflower. Architecturally it looks a bit like a White Snakeroot; they have clusters of small hairy flowerheads and similar leaves but with light purple flowers. The hairiness of the flowers gives it an unclear look that someone thought was like looking through mist, inspiring the mistflower name. 

Similar to White Snakeroot and the Joe-Pye Weeds, Blue Mistflower has also been reclassified out of the boneset/thoroughwort genus. That genus used to have over 800 species but is now down to at most 60; that's a lot of reclassifications.

October 6, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 249884740, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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