Zizia aurea Golden Alexanders

General

A showy yellow perennial wildflower that blooms in late spring. In summer, the seeds and foliage turn purple. Golden Alexanders will attract butterflies and other pollinators.  Andrena ziziae, a species of miner bee, is reliant on this plant.

Plant Description

Growing 3-4' tall. One central stem and occasional lateral stems. Compound yellow flat or slightly rounded umbel flowers. Pinnately compound leaves with toothed, irregularly shaped leaflets.

Height (ft)
3-4'

Soil moisture
Moist

Soil types
Loam, some coarseness tolerated

Wetland indicator
FAC

Shade tolerance
Full sun, some light shade tolerated

Bloom color
Yellow

Bloom period
Late Spring

Drought tolerance
Mild

Salinity tolerance
None

 

Distribution

Eastern half of the United States, range extending north into Canada.

Additional information

Brown, Lauren. Grasses: An Identification Guide. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York City, 1979. LINK

Fassett, Norman C. A Manual of Aquatic Plants, First Edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1940. LINK

Garbisch, Edgar W., and McIninch, Suzanne M. Propagation of Wetland Plants: Herbaceous Plants, Shrubs and Trees. Environmental Concern, Inc. 2003. LINK

Harris, James G., and Harris, Melinda Woolf. Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary, Second Edition. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, Utah. 2011. LINK

Hitchcock, A.S., and Chase, Agnes. Manual of the Grasses of the United States, Second Edition, Volume I. Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1971. LINK

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press) LINK

McKenny, Margaret and Peterson, Roger Tory. A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1968. LINK

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. Laurence Newcomb, Mexico. 1977. LINK

USDA, NRCS. 2021. PLANTS Database (https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/, 08/20/2021). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA. LINK

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=g710

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ziau

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zizia_aurea

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/mdpmcfs7726.pdf

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/gld_alexanderx.htm