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(updated November 28, 2022) 

Povertyweed, Poverty Sumpweed

Iva axillaris Pursh.

Asteraceae (Aster Family)

 

▲  povertyweed in flower along gravel road in South Dakota

▲ mature flowering povertyweed in Laramie, Wyoming

▲ colony of povertyweed before flowering in Limon, Colorado

▲▼ stem with closer view of axillary flowers and leaves

▲ ▼  mature stem with dried axillary flowers

▲ top side of leaf

▲ bottom side of leaf

Iva axillaris Pursh., Povertyweed, Sumpweed:  (Bayer Code:  IVAAX; US Code IVXA)

·         U.S. native, creeping root-producing creeping perennial that grows 8-24 inches tall, with round, gray-green to yellow-green, tan or pinkish, hairy, rough-textured stems that may be unbranched, but more often, branched from near the base; tends to form colonies from shoots from the deep creeping roots

·         Leaves opposite on lower stems, alternate as flowering commences, gray-green, rough-textured, with stiff hairs and many gland dots, oval-shaped, with smooth margins and round-pointed tips; leaves have short or no petioles; leaves tend to curve upward from the stem toward their tips, and margins may be twisted or curled slightly

·         Head inflorescences are in small clusters in the axils of the upper stem leaves, and they hang downward, like little bells

·         Flowering is from mid-spring to mid-autumn

·         Found in dry to moist soils in prairies, pastures, rangeland, right-of-ways, non-crop areas, riparian areas; tolerant of saline and alkaline soils

·         Can accumulate selenium in high-selenium soils, but usually avoided by grazing animals

 

 

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