Erect, single-stemmed annual or perennial, 4–15 dm, often branching from near the base; lvs broadly lanceolate to oblong-ovate, petiolate, 5–12 cm, coarsely and somewhat doubly crenate-serrate; spikes paniculately disposed, slender; bracts ovate, acuminate, ciliate; cal-teeth short, subequal; cor white, the tube scarcely exserted, the limb 2(–4) mm wide, the lobes obtuse; fr exposed at the top; nutlets1–2 mm; 2n=14. Thickets, moist fields, meadows, and waste places; N.B. (?) and Que. to N.D., s. to Fla. andTex. June–Oct. Var. urticifolia, with the range of the sp., has the lvs hirtellous or glabrous on both sides, thehairs whitish, 1–1.3 mm, the cal strigose, 2–2.3 mm at maturity, and the nutlets 2 mm, corrugated on the back.Var. leiocarpa L. M. Perry & Fernald, with more restricted range, from Conn. and Pa. to N.D., S.C., and Okla., has the lvs densely velutinous with hairs to 0.3 mm, the mature cal puberulent, to 2 mm, the nutlets 1.5 mm, smooth. A hybrid with V. stricta is V. ×illicita Moldenke; one with V. hastata is V. ×engelmannii Moldenke.
Woodlands, pastures, along streams, roadsides and waste areas. Disturbed soils, roadsides, successional fields, thickets, forested openings, and edges of forests in wet to mesic soils.
Can be grown by cuttings, divisions or seedlings. Seeds needs stratification.
Home