Mistflower

Ageratina riparia Mistflower

DESCRIPTION

Upright herb 30-100cm tall with distinctive purplish stems, rooting at nodes. Lanceolate or narrow-ovate leaves 3–12cm long by 8–30mm wide, pointed leaf tips, base tapered, venation prominent. Petioles up to 15mm long.

FLOWERS AND FRUIT

White flowers in heads 5–6mm wide from winter to spring; oblong to lanceolate green to purplish involucral bracts. Achenes 1–2mm long are hairy on ribs. Seeds are dispersed by wind and water.

HABITAT AND RANGE

Disturbed damp areas and riparian corridors in rainforest or rainforest margins from Berry, in New South Wales, north to southeast Queensland, with a disjunct population in the wet tropics. A native of Mexico and Central America, it was introduced as an ornamental plant.