Common Elephant's Foot Elephantopus tomentosus

Elephant's foot is a wildflower in the daisy family (Asteraceae) native throughout the Southeast as far as Texas. It can be found growing in its natural habitat of fairly dry woodlands and woodland borders. It may also be found in disturbed areas such as roadsides, clear-cut or burned locations. The specific epithet is Latin for "tomentose," which means densely covered in short, soft hairs.

It prefers average, well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. It has a short rhizome and grows quickly to a height of 2 feet with pink or purple flowers. The leaves, in a rosette at the base of the plants, are of various sizes, overlap each other around the stem and lie flat close to the ground. The flowering stem is generally bare except for the three large bracts under the flower heads.

The flowers are attractive to pollinators, so this species would be a welcome addition to a woodland or shady pollinator garden. The plant spreads readily and may pop up where it is not wanted. Hand weeding is the best control.

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:  Because of its aggressive tendencies and ability to self-seed easily, it is not recommended as a landscape plant. The growth habit (leaves forming just above ground level) tends to smother out other plant growth. The leaves are so close to the ground that a weed trimmer or mower is fairly useless in managing them.