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Flowers in terminal spike; paired leaves evident
Chelone glabra
Common Name: Turtlehead
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Description: Perennial herb
Leaves: 7 to 15 cm, narrow, sharply toothed, simple, paired, lanceolate leaves
Flowers: Tight cluster of swollen white flowers with short petioles. Flowers are crowded into terminal spikes up to 10 cm long.
Seeds: Within spherical capsules, up to 1.5 cm in diameter
Stem: Slender, erect, branched or unbranched, smooth
Branching Pattern: Opposite
Height: 30-90 cm
Conditions/Habitat/Kind of Forest: Moist meadows, thickets, and stream banks
Range: Eastern half of the United States
Conservation Status-US/ World Wide: Common except in New York (vulnerable)
Uses (Human): Used in American folk medicine for a wide variety of ailments
References:
Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains. February 23, 2005. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Accessed: November 29, 2005. <http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/plntguid/species/chelglab.htm>
Plants for a Future. June 2004. Accessed: November 29, 2005. <http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Chelone+glabra>
Thieret, John W. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers: Eastern Region (Rev. Ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 2001.
Urban Horticulture. 2005. North Carolina State University. Accessed: November 29, 2005. <http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/wildflowers/chelone_glabra.html>
USDA, NRCS. 2005. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). Data compiled from various sources by Mark W. Skinner. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.