Nodding lizard's-tail

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Nodding lizard's-tail

Nodding lizard's-tail

Nodding lizard's-tail leaf

Nodding lizard's-tail

Nodding lizard's-tail inflorescence

Nodding lizard's-tail

Nodding lizard's-tail

Morphology

Stem

Erect or ascending, simple or few-branched. Plants pubescent or glabrescent.

Leaves

Cauline, alternate, simple; 1.6 to 10 inches; petiole .4 to 4 inches; blade ovate, .8 to 6.7 inches long, .4 to 4 inches wide, base cordate, margins entire, tip acuminate.

Inflorescence

Terminal and/or opposite leaves, racemes, spike-like, lax, cylindric, 2 to 14 inches, not subtended by petal-like bracts.

Flower

Flowers 170-350, each subtended by bracts; bracts green, boat-shaped, .06 to .12 inch; perianth absent; stamens 3-8, usually 6.

Fruit

Schizocarps, brown, nearly spherical, .06 to .12 inch; seeds brown, .04 to .05 inch.

Ecology

Habitat

Wet soil, shallow water in marshes, swampy woods, and along slow-moving streams.

Distribution

Kansas populations are known from Cherokee and Linn counties.

Practical Information

Uses

Native Americans applied a poultice of mashed boiled or roasted roots to wounds and spider bites.

Additional Notes