Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

CAROLINA PUCCOON

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Lithospermum caroliniense (Walt. ) MacMill.

Russell County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 8-18 inches

Family: Boraginaceae - Borage Family

Flowering Period: May, June

Also Called:

Puccoon, carolina gromwell.

Stems:

Erect, 1 to several, simple or branched above, rough-hairy.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, sessile, crowded, linear to lanceolate, 1 to 2.5 inches long, to 1/2 inch wide, rough-hairy, tiny bump at base of each hair; margins entire; tips somewhat pointed; basal leaves often absent at flowering.

Inflorescences:

Cymes, leafy, terminal.

Flowers:

Calyces 5-lobed, stiff-hairy, much shorter than corollas; corollas showy, funnel- to trumpet-shaped, tube 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, top limb 1/2 to 1 inch wide, 5-lobed; stamens 5.

Fruits:

Nutlets, 4, egg-shaped, hard, smooth, shiny, white, each containing 1 seed.

Habitat:

Open, sandy prairies and open woods.

Distribution:

East 1/2 of Kansas.

Origin:

Native

Uses:

Native Americans used the roots of puccoon to treat chest wounds and to produce red face paint and a red dye.

Comments:

Puccoon is difficult to transplant.