Ratany

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Ratany stems

Ratany leaves

Ratany

Ratany flowers

Ratany habit

Ratany flowers

Ratany flowers

Ratany

Ratany

Morphology

Stem

Decumbent or trailing, numerous, 8 to 40 inches long, silky-hairy.

Leaves

Alternate, simple, linear to elliptic, 1/5 to 4/5 inch long; surfaces silky-hairy, margins entire; tips pointed or usually with a short, brownish spine.

Inflorescence

Solitary flowers in leaf axils; stalks 1/5 to 1.2 inch long, pubescent.

Flower

Sepals 4 or 5, distinct, conspicuous, ovate-lanceolate, 1/3 to 2/5 inch long, unequal, wine-red to reddish-brown, pubescent; petals 5 unequal; upper 3 long-clawed, red or purplish; lower 2 small, thick, sessile, greenish; stamens 4.

Fruit

Spherical, 1/4 to 1/3 inch in diameter, woolly, 1-seeded, covered with sharp prickles.

Ecology

Habitat

Dry, rocky prairie hillsides, ravines, and roadsides; rocky, gravelly or sandy soils.

Distribution

South 1/4 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

Infusions of the plant and the powdered roots were reportedly used for various purposes, including as a gargle, to treat diarrhea, in tooth powders, and to color wines red.

Additional Notes