| Lithospermum canescens | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Boraginales |
| Family: | Boraginaceae |
| Genus: | Lithospermum |
| Species: | L. canescens |
| Binomial name | |
| Lithospermum canescens | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Lithospermum canescens, or the hoary puccoon is a perennial herb endemic to eastern North America. The plant grows in a variety of habitats. It has golden yellow flowers which bloom from April to May. [3]
Lithospermum canescens grows to 6–16 in (150–410 mm) in height, growing from a thick, red, woody taproot with one to several stems that are usually not branched. Its leaves are alternate and oblong, and lack a petiole. The leaves range around 1–2 in (25–51 mm) in length and have any width under 0.5 in (13 mm). Both the leaves and stems are grey-green and pubescent, meaning they are covering with many short, silky, erect trichomes, or hairs. [4]
Its flowers are tubular and cluster at the terminal racemes, or at the end of stems. They are commonly yellow to orange in hue and are about 0.5 in (13 mm) in diameter. The fruit of the plant is a hard, smooth, yellowish-white seedlike nutlet. [4]
The genus name lithospermum comes from the Greek lethos, meaning "stone", and sperma, meaning "seed", referencing the stone-like seeds of the plant. The species name canscens means "white with age", referencing the short, white hairs that cover the plant. [5]
The common name "hoary puccoon" also references the short, white trichomes on the plant, as hoary also means "white or grey with age, and the word "puccoon" comes from a Native American word meaning "a plant that yields a pigment". [5]
The plant commonly grows in dry to moderately moist soils, in prairies, woodlands, and the edges of roads. It seldom grows in sandy soils. [6]
In the United States, it is native from Nebraska to the west, Texas to the south, New York to the east, and the Canadian border to the north. In Canada, it is native in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. [7]
Native American children chew the plant with their gum to dye it red, as referenced in the common name "hoary puccoon". The taproot produces the reddish-purple juice that is commonly used as a pigment. [8] Native Americans also use the roots of the plant to treat asthma or any lung complaints, and as a sedative. [2] The Menomini peoples used the ripened, white seed of the plant as a type of ceremonial bead. [5]
Quercus macrocarpa, the bur oak or burr oak, is a species of oak tree native to eastern North America. It is in the white oak section, Quercus sect. Quercus, and is also called mossycup oak, mossycup white oak, blue oak, or scrub oak. The acorns are the largest of any North American oak, and are important food for wildlife.
Lithospermum is a genus of plants belonging to the family Boraginaceae. The genus is distributed nearly worldwide, but most are native to the Americas and the center of diversity is in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Species are known generally as gromwells or stoneseeds.
Layia platyglossa, commonly called coastal tidytips, is an annual wildflower of the family Asteraceae, native to western North America.
Cardamine hirsuta, commonly called hairy bittercress, is an annual or biennial species of plant in the family Brassicaceae, and is edible as a salad green. It is common in moist areas around the world.
Lithospermum officinale, or common gromwell or European stoneseed, is a flowering plant species in the family Boraginaceae, native to Eurasia. It is the host plant for caterpillars of the monophagous moth Ethmia dodecea.
Drymocallis arguta, commonly known as the tall cinquefoil, prairie cinquefoil, or sticky cinquefoil, is a perennial herbaceous plant native to North America. It was formerly included with the typical cinquefoils in the genus Potentilla.
Echinacea simulata, commonly called wavy leaf purple coneflower, glade coneflower, or prairie purple coneflower, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the east-central states of the United States. Its natural habitat is dry, calcareous, open areas such as barrens and woodlands.
Puccoon is a common name that refers to any of several plants formerly used by certain Native Americans for dyes. The dyes were made from the plants' roots.
Lithospermum incisum is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by several common names, including fringed puccoon, narrowleaf stoneseed, fringed gromwell, narrowleaf puccoon, and plains stoneseed. It is native to much of central Canada and the United States, where it is known from many types of habitat, but particularly piñon-juniper woodland. It is a hairy perennial herb growing from a taproot and woody caudex. It produces a cluster of stems up to about 30 centimeters long. The stems are lined with narrow, pointed leaves up to 6 centimeters long. The slender, trumpet-shaped flowers are pale to bright yellow or gold, and may approach 4 centimeters long. The corolla face is 1 to 2 centimeters wide, its lobes sometimes ruffled. The smaller cleistogamous (closed) flowers are the main producers of seed.
Euphorbia corollata is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Euphorbiaceae that is native to North America. A common name for the species is flowering spurge. It has a milky sap that can cause skin and eye irritation in some people. It grows up to 1 m (3 ft) tall, with smooth stems and light green leaves arranged alternately or in whorls. Leaves are about 10 mm wide and 75 mm (3 in) long. Each stem terminates in a panicle 20 to 25 mm across. Flowers are about 6 mm across and consist of one pistillate and several staminate flowers surrounded by five white bracts - not petals but formed from the involucre at the base of the flowers. Flowering spurge blooms from June to September.
Tephrosia virginiana, also known as goat-rue, goat's rue, catgut, rabbit pea, Virginia tephrosia, hoary pea, and devil's shoestring is a perennial dicot in family Fabaceae. The plant is native to central and eastern North America.
Tetradymia argyraea is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names spineless horsebrush and gray horsebrush. It is native to western North America.
Dalea candida is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name white prairie clover. It is native to North America, where it can be found throughout central Canada, the central United States, and northern Mexico. It can sometimes be found outside its range as an introduced species. It grows in many types of habitat, including several types of prairie, foothills, woods, forests, and disturbed areas.
Ipomoea lacunosa, the whitestar, white morning-glory or pitted morning-glory, is a species that belongs to the genus Ipomoea. In this genus most members are commonly referred to as "morning glories". The name for the genus, Ipomoea, has root in the Greek words ips and homoios, which translates to worm-like. This is a reference to the plant's vine-like growth. Lacunosa comes from a Latin word meaning air spaces, correlating with the venation of the leaves. Ipomoea lacunosa is native to the United States and grows annually. The flowers of this species are usually white and smaller than most other morning glories.
Lespedeza capitata is a species of flowering plant in the Fabaceae, or legume family, and is known by the common name roundhead bushclover, or roundhead lespedeza. It is native to eastern North America, including eastern Canada and the eastern half of the United States.
Delphinium exaltatum, known by the common name tall larkspur, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Delphinium, part of the buttercup family. Other Delphinium species are also commonly known as tall larkspur, such as Delphinium barbeyi. D. exaltatum is native to the central and eastern United States, where it can be found in Kentucky, Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and Missouri.
Orbexilum pedunculatum, commonly known as Sampson's snakeroot, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family. It is native primarily to the Southeastern United States where it is found in prairies and savannas, often in acidic soil. It is a perennial that produces racemes of flowers in early summer.
Vigna luteola, commonly known as the hairy cowpea and the Nile bean, is a perennial vine found in many tropical areas.
Verbena stricta, also known as hoary verbena or hoary vervain, is a small purple wildflower native to a large region of the central United States.
Dyssodia papposa is a species of annual herbaceous forb in the genus Dyssodia, commonly known as fetid marigold or prairie dogweed. It is native to North America and parts of the Southwest, extending into the Northeast. The plant has been used by Native Americans to treat multiple medical conditions.
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