Zizia aurea
(Golden Alexanders)
Common Name, Latin Name, and Family
Its common names include golden alexanders and golden zizia.
Its Latin name is Zizia aurea.
Golden alexanders is in the Apiaceae which is the celery and carrot family.
Form
A perennial that grows to a height of about 1 to 3 feet and just about as wide. It prefers partial shade and relatively moist soils.
Flowers
Yellow flowers appear in the spring and summer.
Habitat
Golden alexanders is found naturally occurring in forested areas.
Native Range
It is found in Florida from Levy County northward and it is considered rare in Florida.
It is native to the following states: AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, and WV.
Landscape Use
Golden alexanders is a great addition to a butterfly garden if you have a moist area for it to grow in. It stays rather short and is well behaved, and really beautiful when it is in bloom.
I usually grow mine somewhere in the lawn and just mow around the plant because I live on a lake so my entire yard is a moist environment. So if you find the right place Zizia can grow in your green space without much maintenance at all.
You can let it reseed where the plants are grown in order to have more plants, but it flowers best if it is kept deadheaded. Seedlings can be transplanted or removed as needed.
Wildlife Uses
The flowers are a source of nectar for many insects including bees, beetles, flies, and wasps.
Golden alexanders is a host plant for the Eastern black swallowtail butterfly.
You can read more about this butterfly here in my article Gardening for the Black Swallowtail Butterfly.
Propagation
Can be grown from seed and transplanted when small.
Seed requires a 90 day cold stratification in order to germinate. Once placed in a potting medium they can take 2 to 4 weeks to germinate. This seed requires patience.
You can purchase seeds here at my Ebay Store – Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea) ✤ 50 Seeds.