Eutrochium fistulosum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eutrochium fistulosum |
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| Eutrochium fistulosum with a butterfly | |
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Eutrochium fistulosum, also known as hollow Joe-Pye weed, trumpetweed, or purple thoroughwort, is a beautiful flowering plant that grows in North America. It belongs to the sunflower family. You can find it in southern Canada and across the eastern and south-central parts of the United States. It grows from Maine all the way to Ontario, Wisconsin, and Missouri, and as far south as Florida and Texas.
The plant's scientific name, fistulosum, comes from the word "fistula," which means "tube." This name refers to its hollow, tube-like stem.
What the Plant Looks Like
Eutrochium fistulosum is a herbaceous perennial plant, meaning it has soft stems (not woody) and lives for more than two years. It can grow very tall, sometimes reaching over 350 cm (11 ft 6 in) (about 11.5 feet)!
This plant loves moist, rich soil. You'll often see it growing next to ditches, in marshes, or in wet forests.
Flowers and Life Cycle
The plant blooms from the middle of summer until the first frost of autumn. Its pretty pink or purple flowers make it a great addition to gardens.
Eutrochium fistulosum is very popular with insects! Many butterflies, bees, and other insects that feed on nectar love to visit its flowers. It's also an important plant for several types of moths. These include the Clymene moth, the eupatorium borer moth, the ruby tiger moth, and the three-lined flower moth. These moths use the plant as a place for their larvae (caterpillars) to grow.
Stems and Leaves
This plant usually has one straight stem. It's green with purple spots or stripes. The upper parts of the stem can be reddish or purplish.
The leaves and the main parts of the flower head grow in special groups called whorls. This means they grow in a circle around the stem. Usually, there are 3 to 5 leaves in each whorl, but sometimes there can be 2 or 6. The leaves are large, long, and have sharp, jagged edges.
One plant can produce many flower heads that grow in a branching pattern. Each flower head has 4 to 7 small pink or purple disc flowers. Unlike some other flowers, these do not have large, flat "ray flowers" (like the petals of a daisy).
Images for kids
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This picture shows the leaves growing in a 3-fold pattern.
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Here, the leaves are in a 4-fold pattern.
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This image shows a 5-fold pattern of leaves.
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Sometimes, though rarely, the leaves can grow in a 6-fold pattern.
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A closer look at the plant's stem sections.
See also
In Spanish: Eutrochium fistulosum para niños
