Perennial, 2–10 dm, glabrous or thinly hairy to tomentulose; lvs numerous; often with axillary fascicles; lfls (3)5(7), narrow, involute when dry, 8–25 mm; spikes scarcely elevated above the lvs, very dense and cone-like, becoming cylindric and 2–7 cm; bracts, except the lowest, mostly short and papery, the oblanceolate body villous above, tapering to a dark, subulate, glabrous or shortly hairy tip; fls of sect. Kuhnistera, 5–7 mm, rose-purple, rarely white; cal densely villous or sericeous, bluntly pentagonal, not prominently ribbed, not bracteolate; 2n=14. Dry prairies and open glades; Ind. to Man. and Alta., s. to Ky., Ark., Tex., and N.M. June, July. Ours is var. purpurea. (Petalostemon p.)
Dry desert and alluvial soils; at elevations up to 2,000 metres. Sandy prairies in Texas. Prairies, rocky open glades, along railroad tracks, and rocky or open woods.
Can be grown by seedlings. Seeds needs soaking.
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