Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: gum plant
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Asteraceae
Native Range: Southcentral United States
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
Spread: 1.50 to 2.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to September
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Culture
Easily grown in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates poor soils. Plants will self-seed in optimum growing conditions.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Grindelia lanceolata, commonly called gum plant, narrow-leaved gumweed, or spiny-toothed gumweed, is a biennial to short-lived perennial wildflower that is native to limestone glades, rocky prairies and bald knobs from Tennessee to Missouri to Kansas south to Texas and Alabama. Original native range has expanded over time to now also include fallow fields, railroad right-of-ways, roadsides and waste ground (Steyermark). Plants may also be found in Connecticut, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Wisconsin where they were probably introduced. Gum plant typically grows to 2-3' tall on stems clad with alternate, narrow, lanceolate leaves (to 4" long) armed with bristle-tipped marginal teeth. Daisy-like flowers (to 1.25" diameter) with bright yellow rays surrounding yellow center disks bloom from June to September. Each flower is subtended by resinous, loosely spreading to ascending, involucre bracts which are slightly sticky (hence the common name of gum plant or gumweed).
Genus name honors Latvian pharmacist, chemist, physician and botanist David Hieronymus Grindel (1776-1836).
Specific epithet is in reference to the lance-shaped leaves.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Root rot may occur in poorly drained soils. Watch for scale and mealybugs.
Uses
Wildflower gardens, cottage gardens, wild areas, prairies or glades. Borders.