Wedge-leaf frog fruit

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Wedge-leaf frog fruit

Wedge-leaf frog fruit inflorescence

Wedge-leaf frog fruit leaves

Morphology

Stem

Prostrate, branching from woody base, to 3 feet long, somewhat 4-angled, sparsely to densely covered with flattened white hairs, infrequently rooting at nodes.

Leaves

Opposite, simple, sessile, rigid, linear-oblanceolate or wedge-shaped, 1/2 to 2 inches long, 1/8 to 1/3 inch wide, often gray- or white-pubescent when young, nearly glabrous when mature; tips pointed; margins with 1-4 sharp teeth on each side above the middle or infrequently entire; smaller leaves often in clusters in axils.

Inflorescence

Spikes, dense, on stalks 1/5 to 2.5 inches long in leaf axils, initially rounded, later cylindric and elongating to 4/5 inch; bracts below heads egg-shaped, about 1/5 inch long, tips abruptly pointed.

Flower

4-parted, somewhat 2-lipped; calyx small, membranous, shorter than corolla tube; corolla purplish or whitish; stamens 4, in 2 pairs.

Fruit

2 nutlets, included in calyx, oblong, yellowish, each 1-seeded.

Ecology

Habitat

Prairies, stream and pond edges, roadside ditches, waste areas.

Distribution

West 3/4 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

The Navajo applied a poultice of wedge-leaf frog fruit to spider bites.

Additional Notes