Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses - Tuberous Indian plantain

TUBEROUS INDIAN PLANTAIN

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Arnoglossum plantagineum Raf.

[=Cacalia plantaginea (Raf. ) Shinners]

Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 2-5 feet

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: June, July, August

Stems:

Erect, stout, angled, glabrous, longitudinally grooved.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, long-stalked, narrowly ovate to elliptic, 2 to 8 inches long, 1 to 3 inches wide, thick, firm, rubbery texture, glabrous, several prominent parallel veins converging near apex; margins entire to wavy; tips blunt or pointed; upper leaves gradually reduced, sessile or short-stalked, sometimes toothed near tips.

Inflorescences:

Cymes, corymb-like, broad, flat-topped, terminal or in upper leaf axils; heads 50-100, small, narrowly cylindrical; bracts 5, pale green, elevated rib on outer surface.

Flowers:

Ray florets absent, disk florets 5, corollas tubular, deeply 5-lobed, creamy-white.

Fruits:

Achenes, oblong, prominently ribbed, tipped with numerous white, hair-like bristles, enclosing small seed.

Habitat:

Damp, rocky prairies, open woods, thickets, and roadsides.

Distribution:

East 2/5 of Kansas.

Comments:

"Tuberous" is in reference to the clump of fleshy, thickened roots produced by the plant.

Tuberous Indian plantain