Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

QUEEN'S DELIGHT

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Stillingia sylvatica L.

Comanche County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 12-32 inches

Family: Euphorbiaceae - Spurge Family

Flowering Period: May, June, July, August

Stems:

Erect, several to many, unbranched, bright green, glabrous, somewhat succulent; sap milky; base woody.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, ascending, highly variable; blades narrowly elliptic to lanceolate or oblanceolate, 1.4 to 4.8 inches long, 1/4 to 1 inch wide, pointed at both ends; margins toothed or scalloped, bearing small glands; stalks to 1/4 inch long; stipules gland-like.

Inflorescences:

Spike-like, terminal; monoecious; pistillate flowers below, staminate flowers near tip.

Flowers:

Greenish; calyces cup-like; petals absent; calyx of pistillate flowers deeply 3-lobed; lobes to 1/12 inch long; styles 3, 1/6 to 1/5 inch long; staminate flowers with 2 stamens.

Fruits:

Capsule, rounded, 3-lobed 2/5 to 3/5 inch wide, smooth, 3-seeded; seeds ovate-oblong, 1/3 inch long, whitish, smooth.

Habitat:

Sandy prairies, waste places, roadsides, stream banks, sand dunes; dry, sandy soil.

Distribution:

South 1/3 of Kansas.

Uses:

Queen's delight was used in treatments of diarrhea, appetite loss and venereal disease. The Kiowa considered the plant an indicator of precipitation. They would note when turtles took refuge in the shade of the plant.

Comments:

Named in honor of Dr. B. Stillingfleet, an English naturalist in the 18th Century.

Queen's delight