Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

FRINGED PUCCOON

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Lithospermum incisum Lehm.

Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 4-16 inches

Family: Boraginaceae - Borage Family

Flowering Period: April, May, June

Also Called:

Narrow-leaf gromwell.

Stems:

Erect or ascending, 1 to several, usually branched above, appressed-hairy.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, sessile, linear, 1/2 to 2 inches long, less than 1/4 inch wide, appressed-hairy; margins entire; tips pointed.

Inflorescences:

Cymes, leafy, terminal.

Flowers:

Flowers of 2 kinds; early spring flowers showy; calyces 5-lobed, much shorter than corollas; corollas trumpet-shaped, tube 3/4 to 2 inches long, top limb about 1/2 inch wide, 5-lobed, bright or pale yellow; margins of lobes prominently fringed; late spring and summer flowers inconspicuous; corollas less than 1/4 inch long or absent, self-pollinating.

Fruits:

Nutlets, 4, small, smooth or pitted, shiny, white, each containing 1 seed.

Habitat:

Dry, upland prairies, disturbed sites, and open woods, in sandy, clay, or loamy soils.

Distribution:

Throughout Kansas.

Uses:

Native Americans used the roots, stems, and leaves to treat coughs, colds, delirium, and paralysis, and obtained a bluish-violet dye from the roots.

Comments:

"Puccoon" is a Native American word.

See also hoary puccoon and Carolina puccoon .

Fringed puccoon