Lady's thumb

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Lady's thumb leaves

Lady's thumb inflorescence

Lady's thumb

Lady's thumb

Lady's thumb

Morphology

Stem

Erect or ascending, usually much-branched, glabrous or hairy.

Leaves

Alternate, simple, short-stalked, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 1 to 6 inches long, 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide, often with dark spot near middle of blade; margins entire; tips tapering to points; stipules tubular, with short bristles on top margins.

Inflorescence

Racemes, erect, less than 1.25 inches long, densely flowered, terminal and axillary.

Flower

Perianths less than 1/8 inch long, dull pink to greenish pink; perianth segments 5, united; tips free; stamens and styles not extending beyond perianth lobes.

Fruit

Achenes, small, shiny, black.

Ecology

Habitat

Damp disturbed sites and waste places.

Distribution

Principally east 3/5 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

Native Americans used the leaves to treat stomach pains and poison ivy rash, and rubbed the plant on their horses to keep flies away.