Family: Apiaceae
Name: Zizia aptera
Bloom Time: May - July
Flower: Yellow
Soil Condition: Moist to Dry
Light: Sun to Partial Shade
Height: 12-36" tall by 12-24" wide
Native Range: North America including Long Island
Zone: 3 to 8
Zizia aptera is short-lived but self-sows readily in the garden. This variety is great for drier spots in the garden. This is fantastic early nectar and pollen source for many different types of pollinators. The bright yellow flowers are a lovely addition to the heart-shaped basal leaves. It also makes a great fresh-cut flower and the seed heads are very showy with a touch of burgundy color in the fall. Its cousin, Zizia aurea, maybe be used for wetter sites.
Maintenance: None
Benefits: Host plant to black swallowtail caterpillars, songbirds eat the seeds, great nectar, and pollen source, tolerates clay soil
Fun Facts: The generic name, Zizia, is in honor of German botanist Johann Baptist Ziz (1779–1829). The specific epithet aptera means “without wings” because this species has wingless seeds.
Companion Plants: Amsonia tabernaemontana (bluestar), Bouteloua curtipendula (side oats grama), Carex bicknellii (Bicknell's sedge), Echinacea pallida (pale purple coneflower), Panicum virgatum (switchgrass) Schizachyrium scoparium (Little bluestem), Sporobolus heterolepis (Prairie Dropseed)
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