Perennial 2–10 dm from a stoloniferous base, usually much branched above, the stems 4-angled, glabrous; principal lvs lanceolate or lance-linear, 4–12 cm, acuminate, tapering to a sessile or obscurely petiolar base, glabrous except on the margin; fls 4-merous, sessile in elongate, interrupted, leafy spikes; pet minute and greenish or none; stamens 4; fr short-cylindric or commonly widened above, 4–7 × 3–5 mm, roundly 4-sided or shallowly grooved, glabrous, its well developed bracteoles narrow, inserted at or often well above the base; 2n=32. Swamps, marshes, and wet prairies; Mass. and Conn.; locally in Pa. and Va.; s. Ont. to Minn., s. to Ky., s. Ill., s. Mo., and e. Kans. July–Sept.
Home