CLAMMY-WEED
File Size: 109 KB
 
Polanisia dodecandra   (L. ) DC.  subsp. trachysperma  (T. & G. ) Iltis
Russell County, Kansas
Annual
Height: 8-32 inches
Family: Capparaceae - Caper Family
Flowering Period:   June, July, August, September
Stems: Erect, usually single, much-branched, sticky-hairy.
Leaves: Alternate, stalked, palmately 3-foliolate; leaflets oblanceolate, .75 to 1.75 inch long, .25 to .75 wide, sticky-hairy; margins entire; upper leaves reduced.
Inflorescences: Racemes, short, terminal.
Flowers: To .5 inch long, long-stalked; sepals 4, lanceolate, purplish; petals 4, obovate to spatulate, 1/3 to 2/3 inch long, white or sometimes purple-tinged; tips usually notched; stamens 10-20, filaments thread-like, .5 to 1.25 inch long, pink to purplish, projecting well past petals.
Fruits: Capsules, cylindric, 1 to 3 inches long; seeds many, reddish brown.
Habitat: Bluffs, disturbed sites, waste areas, stream banks, and roadsides, on sandy or rocky soils.
Distribution: Throughout Kansas.
Comments: The name clammy-weed alludes to the glandular, sticky hairs that cover the plant. Touching the foliage gives the fingers a "clammy" feeling. Clammy-weed has a strong unpleasant odor.

Clammy-weed leaves
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Russell County, Kansas
Clammy-weed
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Russell County, Kansas
Clammy-weed flowers
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Russell County, Kansas
Clammy-weed
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Finney County, Kansas
Clammy-weed fruit
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Finney County, Kansas
Clammy-weed fruit
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Russell County, Kansas
Clammy-weed flowers
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Ottawa County, Kansas
Clammy-weed habit
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Ottawa County, Kansas
Clammy-weed fruit
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Ottawa County, Kansas
Clammy-weed
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Ottawa County, Kansas
Clammy-weed
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Ottawa County, Kansas