Slender, glabrous or subglabrous annual 5–40 cm, often branched from the base, the internodes usually exceeding the lvs; lvs almost entire, variable in shape, the lower ± orbicular, the upper spatulate to broadly oblanceolate; stipules conspicuous, foliaceous, often ciliate, pectinately cut, the middle lobe elongate-spatulate and entire or nearly so; fls long-peduncled, the early ones generally chasmogamous; sep ciliate, half as long as the deep blue or bluish-white to cream-colored (“ivory”) pet, these ca 1 cm or nearly 1 cm; style much enlarged above, with a globose, hollow tip and a wide orifice on the lower side; mid-and late-season (rarely all) fls cleistogamous, with small or no pet; frs oblong-ellipsoid, 4–6 mm; seeds pale brown; 2n=34. Fields, open woods, roadsides, and grassy places; Mass. and N.Y. to Nebr. and Colo., s. to S.C., Ga., and Tex. (V. kitaibeliana var. rafinesquii)
Home