Agalinis heterophylla (Nutt.) Small ex Britton
Prairie false foxglove
Prairie false foxglove is native to the North American southwest. It is hemiparasitic—it steals some of its nutrients from nearby plants, and the rest from photosynthesis.
Plants: Erect plants are up to 2½′ (80 cm) tall, splitting into multiple branches, each ribbed and 4-angled.
Leaves: Opposite, simple, sessile, and linear to lanceolate. Leaves are ⅜–1½″ long ⨉ 1/16–⅛″ wide (1–4 cm ⨉ 2–6 mm).
Flowers: Flower spikes have pairs of opposite-facing flowers. Each flower is horn-shaped, opening to five fused uneven bright pink petals. The throat is pale pink to white, and dotted with dark purple spots. There are four stamens, and an arched style is often visible. Flowers appear from August to early October.
Fruits: Ovoid to oblong, ⅛–¼″ (5–8 mm) long. Seeds are dark brown, and ~1/32″ (0.7–1.1 mm) in size.
Habitats: Damp prairies, moist swales, savannas, old fields, and roadsides. It also occurs in pinelands, hardwood forests, coastal cheniers and marshes along the coast.
Online References:
Gerardia heterophylla Nutt.
9/21/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt 
9/21/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Lamiales | Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary |
| Family | Orobanchaceae | Broomrape family of parasitic plants |
| Genus | Agalinis | Botanical Latin: “remarkable flax” |
| Species | heterophylla | Means that the leaves are different on the same plant |
Agalinis heterophylla description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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