The common name of this plant is mistflower because the bluish flowers are downy and look misty.

Mistflower is native to eastern North America where it is generally found in moist shady spots. It is an extremely adaptable plant and will tolerate a range of soils types from sandy to clay, and growing conditions from full sun to part shade as long as the soil is kept relatively moist. Mistflower grows from a rhizome and creeps fairly quickly so it makes an excellent groundcover. The flowers are downy and soft, and a bluish-violet and appear in late summer and early fall.

The plant can grow to about three feet in width and about a foot high and is suited to shady borders or as an understory groundcover. It is sometimes called Hardy or Wild Ageratum