# blue mistflower

*Conoclinium coelestinum*

Its fluffy, disk-only flower heads lack ray florets entirely, giving them a unique misty appearance that looks like a blue-violet cloud.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Asterales › Asteraceae › Conoclinium
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** wetland
- **Habitat:** Wet meadows, stream banks, damp ditches, and low-lying open woods.
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (photosynthetic, utilizing sunlight, water, and soil nutrients).
- **Range:** Eastern United States, Central United States, Ontario, Canada
- **Size:** 1 to 3 feet (30-90 cm) tall, forming dense colonies
- **Lifespan:** Perennial (indefinite lifespan through rhizomatic spreading)
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss through wetland drainage, urban development, and indiscriminate herbicide application.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. You can safely approach and admire this plant. It is non-toxic to touch, but avoid ingesting wild plants. Enjoy watching the native bees and butterflies it attracts.

## About

Conoclinium coelestinum , the blue mistflower , is a North American species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the sunflower family. It was formerly classified in the genus Eupatorium , but phylogenetic analyses in the late 20th century research indicated that that genus should be split, and the species was reclassified in Conoclinium .

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/3bc709b2-3f0f-4d77-a9f4-f388eed9172b
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/119095
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conoclinium coelestinum
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/161954811/medium.jpg (Douglas Goldman, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.