I had the wrong species name for my plant, it is Vernonia noveboracensis. You must have the cultivar Vernonia lettermanii 'Iron Butterfly '. It's a clone of a selection that was shorter and more compact than the species. Any seedlings from your Iron Butterfly will be taller and slightly different than the plant you purchased. It's a good idea to cut the plant back early in the season so it won't flop. If they aren't cut back they can flop and become a doughnut shape. I cut my plant back severely 1 time this year, but I could have done it a second time, it still grew to about 4 feet, but is bushy enough to not flop. Vernonia species will hybridize easily, so it's possible the wild one can hybridize with yours, but I wouldn't worry about it, you might end up with some beautiful hybrids. This is where wild Vernonia lettermanii grows, in novaculite rock along a river running though mountains in Arkansas and Oklahoma. They grow out of cracks in the rocks and sometimes get flooded, so they need good drainage, but can handle periodic flooding. Iron butterfly should do well in regular garden soil, so they claim. The Chicago Botanical Garden did a comparative study of different Vernonia cultivars including Iron Butterfly. Photos by the amazing Adam Black

Oh, it's very difficult to define. According to the photo, only experienced biologists will help you determine the type of this wild plant, especially when I was driving through San Antonio, I saw many different types of such plants, and I would not say that they are very different in some way :) As for flowers and plants, I am not a special expert here, but I think that on this forum, you will find knowledgeable people who will prompt and help you. Even when I met a girl, I rarely gave her flowers. If I did, I turned to the Mississauga flower delivery service since this service makes unusual bouquets that even attracted me.

It doesn't look like a wildflower and may not even be from this mix You are correct - it is a woody plant, with the specimen shown predating October. And if you are located in North America: This aggressive grower poses a threat to native plants and communities. Its vigorous growth forms mats of monotypic evergreen groundcover that displaces and excludes most other plants, including native wildflowers. Extensive infestations can be found under forest canopies. https://www.invasive.org/weedcd/pdfs/wow/common-periwinkle.pdf

Picking up all the bigger sticks and branches in a natural woodland garden makes a major difference in the look and feel of the space. It is for pretty much the same reason you wouldn't leave all the deadfall from large mature trees in a more convential garden. All those sticks and branches fall in and on top of your plants. They also decompose much more slowly than leaves and can pile up quite a bit over time. The plants matter just as much in a woodland garden as any other garden. You don't want them buried in and fighting to come up through a bunch of sticks. It is the same reason I want to have all the remaining dried bits of the herbaceous perennials chopped down before early spring. The biggest bloom in a good east coast woodland garden is in the early spring. The majority of the native spring ephemeral wildflowers are less than a foot tall. You don't want the visual competition of a bunch of taller standing sticks with shorter plants. Bottom line is that keeping the forest tidy is to display the plants you and nature are growing to their best advantage.