Vernonia acaulis (Stemless Ironweed)

This attractive native wildflower is fairly common in dry habitats in the Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont of North Carolina. It typically flowers from late June through August, though this one growing in a powerline clearing was flowering in mid-September, perhaps because it had been mowed earlier in the season. This species is found almost exclusively in North and Carolina, though it is also in a few counties in Georgia.

Chatham Co., NC 9/16/2012.