Bastard toadflax

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Bastard toadflax

Bastard toadflax

Bastard toadflax

Bastard toadflax habit

Bastard toadflax flowers and fruit

Bastard toadflax flowers

Bastard toadflax leaves

Bastard toadflax

Bastard toadflax

Morphology

Stem

Erect, slender, usually clustered, often branched, glabrous, very leafy.

Leaves

Alternate, simple, nearly sessile to short-stalked, numerous, linear or lanceolate or elliptic, 1/4 to 2 inches long, less than 1/3 inch wide, gray-green, usually waxy, midrib prominent beneath; margins entire; tips pointed or occasionally blunt.

Inflorescence

3-6-flowered, terminal, on slender stalks.

Flower

4-5 white, lanceolate, petal-like sepals, united at bases; petals absent; stamens 5, opposite sepals.

Fruit

Fleshy, nearly spherical, green when young, purplish brown when mature, glabrous or slightly rough, 1-seeded.

Ecology

Habitat

Dry, rocky or sandy prairies, and open wooded areas.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

Native Americans used the fruits of bastard toadflax as a minor food source and treated cuts, sores, and eye inflammations with a wash made from the plant.

Additional Notes