Taxonomy
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Habitat
Calcareous fens. Swamps and wet soil.
Associates
Distribution
NY and MA west to MI, MN, ND, south to NC, MO, and NE. Rare in many parts of the eastern U.S.
Morphology
Short-lived, branching perennial to 80 cm. Leaves cauline, opposite or subopposite, lanceolate, sessile or nearly so, pinnately lobed less than halfway to the midvien, the lobes crenate. Stems glabrous or nearly so. Flowers tubular, in elongate terminal and axillary spikes; each half of the calyx with a foliaceous appendage; corolla pale-yellow, the galea (hood-like upper lip) about equal to the lower lip, entire, sometimes truncate or shallowly notched at the tip.
Notes
Flowers August to October
Wetland indicator: Obligate; Facultative Wetland +
This species, like others in this genus, are hemiparasites deriving some of their nutrition and some secondary metabolites from their host plants.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.
USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
Michael Hough © 2009 |