Velvet butterfly weeds

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Velvety gaura fruit

Velvety gaura

Velvet butterfly weed inflorescence

Velvet butterfly weed inflorescences

Velvety gaura inflorescence

Velvety gaura

Velvety gaura leaves

Velvet butterfly weed habit

Velvet butterfly weed flowers

Morphology

Stem

Erect, usually solitary, unbranched below inflorescence, densely glandular-hairy with few silky spreading hairs.

Leaves

Alternate, simple, sessile, ovate-lanceolate, 1 to 5 inches long, .25 to 1.75 inch wide, soft-pubescent; margins wavy; tips tapering to points; lower stem leaves usually absent at flowering.

Inflorescence

Spikes, elongate, 2 to 20 inches long, densely flowered, terminal; bracts lanceolate to linear, to 1/4 inch long, long spreading hairy.

Flower

Sepals 4, lance-oblong, glabrous or minutely pubescent, bent abruptly downward; petals 4, pink to rose, less than 1/8 inch long; stamens 8, anthers yellow or reddish; stigma with 4 short lobes.

Fruit

Capsules, nutlike, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, mostly glabrous; seeds 3-4, rust-colored.

Ecology

Habitat

Dry rocky hillsides, pastures, old fields, open woodlands, waste areas, and roadsides.

Distribution

Nearly throughout Kansas.

Reproduction

None

Practical Information

Toxicity

None

Forage Value

None

Uses

Native Americans used a liquid made from the roots of velvety gaura to treat snakebites, burns, and inflammations. They sometimes stewed the roots with meat.

Additional Notes

Synonyms

Alternative scientific names that have been used for this plant.