Yankeeweed facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yankeeweed |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Eupatorium
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| Species: |
compositifolium
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| Synonyms | |
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Synonymy
Chrysocoma artemisifolia Poepp. ex Steud.
Chrysocoma coronopifolia (Willd.) Michx. Eupatorium coronopifolium (Michx.) Willd. Eupatorium racemosum Bertol. Traganthes compositifolia (Walter) Greene |
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Yankeeweed, also known by its scientific name Eupatorium compositifolium, is a plant that grows year after year. It is a type of herbaceous plant, meaning it has soft stems, not woody ones like trees. This plant is found naturally in the southern parts of the United States.
You can find Yankeeweed growing from North Carolina all the way down to Florida and across to Texas. It belongs to the sunflower family, which is a very large group of flowering plants.
Contents
What is Yankeeweed?
Yankeeweed is a plant that comes back every year, so it's called a perennial. It's not a tree or a bush, but a plant with soft stems. It can grow quite tall, usually between 20 and 80 inches (about 0.5 to 2 meters) high.
What Does Yankeeweed Look Like?
Like other plants in its group, called Eupatorium, Yankeeweed has many small, white flowers. These flowers grow in groups called inflorescences. Each tiny flower head has five small parts called disc florets.
Unlike some other plants in the sunflower family, Yankeeweed does not have ray florets. These are the petal-like parts you see on a daisy or a sunflower. Yankeeweed's flowers are just the central disc part.
Where Does Yankeeweed Grow?
Yankeeweed prefers to grow in drier areas. This is a key difference from some of its close relatives. It thrives in the southern United States, where it can find the right conditions.
Yankeeweed's Relatives
Yankeeweed is closely related to two other plants: Eupatorium capillifolium and Eupatorium leptophyllum. Some plant experts even think they might all be different types of the same plant.
However, Yankeeweed is usually not as tall as E. capillifolium. Also, as mentioned, it likes drier places, while its relatives might prefer different conditions.
Why Don't Animals Eat Yankeeweed?
Yankeeweed is not a favorite food for animals. Livestock, like cows, usually do not eat it. Most wild animals also tend to leave it alone. Because of this, it can sometimes grow a lot in places like pastures. Farmers might try to control it so that other plants, which animals do eat, can grow better.
