Blue Mistflower / Wild Ageratum

Conoclinium coelestinum

Family:
Asteraceae

Lifecycle:
Perennial

Native or Introduced:
Native

Nutrient Removal Rating:
Low

Wildlife Value:
Low

Invasiveness:
Low-Medium

Rooted or Floating:
Rooted

Site Requirements:
Full sun to light shade

Maximum Water Depth:
1 inch

Plant Description:
Blue mistflower (wild ageratum) is an herbaceous perennial that can grow as tall as 3 feet. 

The above ground plant portions grow from colonies of long, slender rhizomes that serves as a storage organ. Leaves are opposite, hairy, oval shaped, and approximately 2 to 3.5 inches long by 1.5 inches wide with toothed edges.  

Inflorescences present as large clusters of blue to purple flowers that look similar to cultivated ageratum flowers. The flower clusters are approximately 4 inches in diameter.

Blue mistflowers grow in wet meadows, ditches and along the edges of shallow bodies of water.

Sources:

• Flora of North America (see link below),
• Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascual Flora of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press.

Additional reading:

• USDA
• Flora of North America