ironweed

American

[ahy-ern-weed] / ˈaɪ ərnˌwid /

noun

any of certain North American composite plants of the genus Vernonia, having tubular, chiefly purple or red disk flowers.

Etymology

Origin of ironweed

First recorded in 1810–20; iron + weed ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When I arrived, the meadow burned purple with ironweed.

From Salon • Nov. 24, 2022

They grow assorted milkweeds, asters, elderberry, mountain mint, joe-pye weed, goldenrods, white snakeroot and ironweed.

From New York Times • Dec. 3, 2021

They will use the sun to figure out the direction, and they will fill up on nectar from aster, ironweed and daisy flowers.

From Washington Post • Sep. 21, 2021

These plants were the top species magnets: black willow, a goldenrod named Euthamia graminifolia, Virginia bluebell and New York ironweed.

From Washington Post • Apr. 27, 2021

Then while the woods stand freckled and the ironweed waves its sprays of dusty purple, a touch of languor steals into the sky, and the horizon veils itself with a mist that is sweetly melancholy.

From The Tempering by Buck, Charles Neville

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023